Marvel One-Shots
by AlbusSeverusPotter7
Summary: A collection of one-shots (mainly based around Peter and Tony), but I'm open to suggestions. Some may branch out into their own stories and what not. Includes all of the Avengers, but I'm open to including any and all Marvel characters. Feel free to message me with prompts!
1. The One Where May Finds Out

**So I know I have so many other stories to work on, and I am working on a new chapter for my POTC fanfic, but I needed something different to write. So here I am, writing my first Avengers fanfic! I'm super excited for the lineup this year, but I'm also a little scared for my faves.**

 **Oh, and these are all oneshots (some of which may become their own stories, should anyone request that), and I will also be taking requests, so feel free to PM me or leave them in the comments and if I like the idea, I'll do it. I'm not doing anything super AU though (like I might ignore the events of Infinity Wars and Civil War), and I'm only going to be using couples that are established in the MCU to make things a little more linear for myself.**

 **Let's get in to it, shall we?**

 **(This takes place right after the ending of Spiderman: Homecoming, when May finds out Peter has been moonlighting as our favourite crime-fighting arachnid.**

* * *

There was a silence after May's audible, "What the fuck?"

Peter slowly turned around, dropping the mask on the floor of his room. He quickly shook his head. "May- May- its not what it looks like!" he cried, unsure of what her response would be, but he figured it would probably be panic.

May shook her head in disbelief at her nephew's stupidity. "So what am I supposed to think Peter? You're wearing a Spiderman suit."

"It's just that. It's a suit. Mr. Stark made it –" he saw May's face twist into one of anger, and immediately bit his tongue. Clearly mentioning Mr. Stark was not going to be beneficial to the conversation at all.

"He knows! He knew?" May cried, storming back into the kitchen with Peter trailing after her like a lost puppy. She threw the wooden spoon she'd been holding into the pot on the stove with a loud bang, causing Peter to shrink a little. His heightened senses were easily affected by noise.

"This is the Stark Internship, isn't it?" May asked after a moment of contemplation. She didn't know what to do with this newest tidbit of information. None of the parenting books or copious amounts of Dr. Phil episodes ever covered what to do when your child was a vigilante.

Peter was quiet before muttering "yes."

May nodded, hands on her hips. She stared at the boy for a few minutes, not caring how uncomfortable he was growing. "And how long has this been going on?" she questioned.

Peter flopped down onto a nearby chair. "About a year," he replied, not knowing what would happen next. He knew once May found out how long he'd had his powers, she would be able to determine roughly when it happened. Unfortunately, that meant that she would also realize he had these powers when Ben had died. And that was a conversation Peter was not excited to have.

May nodded, pursing her lips before pulling out the chair next to him. "Why didn't you tell me when this happened?" she asked. "If I had known –"

Peter sighed. "May, I wanted you to know. I really did, its just…. I thought it would be safer this way, you know?" He fiddled with the placemat in front of him, "I wanted to keep you safe. That's why I didn't tell you."

May ran a hand through Peter's hair. "I think you're forgetting something. It's my job to keep you safe. You're my baby, and after Ben…. Wait, did you have these powers before Ben…?"

Peter nodded his head. "Yeah, I did."

May was speechless. On one hand she was surprised that Peter, who had been out in the streets fighting crime, stopping muggings and robberies, didn't use his powers to keep his uncle safe. But on the other she wanted to give him a chance. She could never be mad at him, but if she knew what he was thinking, maybe it would allow her to get a better grasp on why he was doing what he was doing. She didn't know how to touch on the subject without sounding accusatory, and Peter must have picked up on this, because he began to explain his story, unprompted.

"I didn't know what was happening to me at first. I got bit by this spider during a field trip to Oscorp. And I started getting sick later that day. You remember that right? I was vomiting everywhere, had a really bad fever. You and Ben wanted to take me to the ER, but I told you not to. Whatever it was would pass."

May remembered the day immediately. Peter had shown up from school drenched in sweat, a pale green ting to his skin and was shaking like no ones business. Ben hadn't returned home from work yet, and immediately Peter had run to the washroom, where he'd begun vomiting profusely. May, who was in her room, quickly ran to check on him, and found him in the worst state she'd ever seen. After helping him up, she forced him to take a cold shower, which did nothing to the fever. He'd been like that for the entire day, and when Ben had come home, the pair were arguing to take Peter to the ER, but he was so stubborn that they gave up hours later, after making a deal that if he wasn't better by the morning, they'd tie him up and drag him there anyways.

However, Peter had woken up the next day just fine. Not only that, but he seemed different. He wasn't wearing his glasses, he was sitting up straight, like he was constantly on alert. He was eating a lot more than he usually did. The kid was positively glowing. She and Ben were shocked when he hopped out the door and headed off to school that day. The pair were sure he was faking it, but after seeing him come home that evening, he was better than ever, so they'd just let him be.

"I remember sweetie," she said, resting her hand on his. "We were both so worried that you wouldn't let us take you to the hospital."

Peter nodded. "I didn't want anyone to find anything unusual, and start asking questions. This spider bite, it changed me. I didn't need my glasses anymore, all my senses are heightened and I'm freakishly strong now. It was so different, but so cool. I didn't know what to do, and it was a lot to get used to. I started getting this idea, you know, that maybe I was given these powers for a reason. I spent my whole life unable to help people, my parents, and now I could! And it was great and all, but then there was that night, when I had that argument with Ben."

May nodded again. It was one of the worst nights in her life. Peter and Ben had gotten into an argument when Peter had forgotten to call to let them know where he was. The kid turned up at 2 in the morning, and when Ben had launched in to his 'Responsibility Sermon' as she and Peter had coined it, the kid had lost it. They'd never seen Peter so angry and when he stormed out, Ben had gone after him.

"I was testing out the webbing I created that evening, and I lost track of time. When I finally got back, Ben was ripping into me, and I – I couldn't tell him what I'd been doing, and I was so angry that he wasn't giving me a chance to explain. So I said a bunch of stuff I didn't mean and I stormed out. Went to the convenience store by Delmar's and the guy at the till got mad because I didn't have enough money. And then this other guy came in, and tried to rob the place. And the clerk looked at me for help, but I was so mad, that I just ignored him. And then the robber, he left the store, ran across the street and …"

"I know sweetie, I know," May murmured, resting her head on Peter's shoulders. He'd told her the story so many times, but now that she knew Peter had powers, it had a whole different meaning.

"I was so guilty after that. Because it was my fault," Peter said.

May quickly looked up at him. "No Peter. It was not your fault. You didn't know what was going to happen, and you'd just gotten your powers. There was nothing you could have done."

"May, there's so much I could have done. But I was being stupid and reckless," he paused here, remembering his conversation with Mr. Stark after the ferry incident. "And I didn't do anything. I wasn't able to keep my family safe. Ben always told me I needed to be responsible, and that's what I've been trying to do. Use my powers, be responsible and take care of those who need help."

May nodded, "I get it now, but I'm still mad you didn't tell me. Not even after Stark's sudden drop in all those months ago." She paused, "speaking of Stark, call him up, because I want to have a little chat with the man."

Peter shook his head rapidly. "No way May. He's a busy man. And I don't have his number –"

"Don't bullshit me, Peter Parker. I know you have his number. And until I talk to the man, no more vigilante outings," she ordered, putting her foot down.

Peter groaned as he stood up from the chair and made his way back to his room to grab his phone. Unlocking it, he scrolled down until he found the number. There was no name above it, as Peter had the number memorized the moment Mr. Stark had given it to him. Plus, it would look very strange if he had Tony's number on his phone.

He pressed call and held the phone to his ear, trying to ignore May's eyes boring into the side of his head. On the fifth ring, he finally picked up. "Hey kid, how'd you like the suit?"

"Uh, yeah, about that Mr. Stark. Um…" he was still finding it hard to talk to the man, and wasn't sure how to tell him that he was going to have to have a nice, long chat with his aunt.

"Kid, you all right? Something sounds wrong. Are you in trouble?" he asked, sounding slightly worried.

"Well, yes. But not in a bad way. It's just…. May knows I'm Spiderman." He could practically hear Mr. Stark's jaw clench. "And she wants to speak to you."

Tony quickly shouted. "Pete, hey kid, wait-" but he could hear the phone being exchanged from one hand to another. "Wait, no!"

"Hi Tony, it's May. How are you?" she asked calmly, much to Peter and Tony's surprise.

"Hi May, I'm doing fine. Yourself?" he said, attempting to be as charming as possible.

"I'm great. I was wondering, what are you doing right now. Because I really need to speak to you in person," she said, sweetly as possible. Peter groaned inwardly, and knew Mr. Stark was in serious trouble. May only spoke like that when she was pissed, and based off of how sweet she sounded, she was positively livid.

"Not much. I'll be there in ten," Tony replied.

"Fantastic, see you then," May said, before cutting the phone and handing it back to Peter. "Go get changed, we have a guest coming."

He nodded, and quickly ran to his room, where he messaged Mr. Stark. "She's pissed," he typed.

"No shit, kid. Don't worry, I'll handle Aunt Hottie."

Peter rolled his eyes, and tossed the phone back onto his bed as he began to change.

* * *

By the time he'd come out of his room, May had calmed herself down enough to continue cooking. Peter watched with mild horror as she poured several tablespoons of salt into a pot, before thinking better of it and adding another cup and stirring it in. "You sure you don't want to order something?" Peter asked tentatively as he peered into the pt over his aunt's shoulder.

"I'm sure," May replied shortly. Peter knew she wasn't mad at him anymore, but couldn't shake how nervous he was about the can of ass-whooping she was going to open on Mr. Stark. He grabbed an apple from the table and sat down down, knowing full well he was not about to eat whatever May was cooking. He quickly texted Ned, "May knows about the internship."

Ned responded back immediately, "didn't she always know?"

"No genius. About the ACTUAL internship," Peter typed.

"Oh shit. Is she mad? Do you need a place to stay?" Ned replied.

"Nah. She called Mr. Stark and invited him for dinner," Peter messaged.

"That's not good. That's really not good," Ned said.

As Peter was typing his response, there was a knock at the door. "It's him. Wish us luck!" he said, before tossing his phone back on the sofa and heading towards the door. May quickly sidestepped him and looked through the little peephole before unlocking it and throwing the door open.

"Hi May," Tony said with a smile. His charm usually worked with women, but he'd never been trying it out on the parent of a superhero he'd secretly been mentoring and training. Consider this test number one, he thought as May moved aside to let him in.

May pursed her lips as she shut the door. Peter and Tony exchanged a quick nod, before they turned back to May, who was staring at Tony as if she'd just spotted him. Little did they know, she was plotting her next course of action. "Have a seat," she said, gesturing to the sofa nearby. Tony sat down, relaxed as ever. Peter sat across from him, unnerved by the older man's confidence.

"So May, I was-" Tony began before May raised a hand to silence him.

"ANTHONY HOWARD STARK! I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU! HOW DARE YOU TAKE MY BABY AND PUT HIM IN HARM'S WAY! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED I'VE BEEN? THE SNEAKING OUT, THE LOST BACKPACKS, THIS SO CALLED "INTERNSHIP!" I THOUGHT HE WAS ON DRUGS? I PROMISED RICHARD AND MARY AND BEN TO KEEP HIM SAFE, AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT? THEY PROBABLY THINK I'M DOING A SHIT JOB!"

Tony's eyes were frozen wide in horror as she mentioned Peter's family. When the kid told him May was pissed, he did not think it would be this bad. Part of him wanted to argue that he was actually doing her a favour, but he felt like that would definitely not help her calm down. In fact, when he'd try the same tactic with Pepper, it never worked.

"Uh, May, I think you're scaring him," Peter piped up as he stood between the pair, unsure if May was going to beat the shit out of Iron Man. The image popped into his head, and he had to try hard not to break out into laughter.

May quickly turned to Peter. "I'm scaring him? He's scaring me!" She yelled back, collapsing onto the armchair Peter had webbed forward for her. She rested her face in her hands, still shaking from anger.

Tony gave Peter a look that clearly read, "What do I do?"

"Talk to her," Peter replied with his face, jerking his head towards his aunt.

"May, I know you're mad-" Tony began.

"Really? What gave it away?" she retorted scathingly.

Tony decided to ignore that line of questioning. "I'm sorry," he said, surprising himself with those words. He NEVER said he was sorry, even when he knew he was wrong. But the thought of not being able to watch out for and work with the kid kind of scared him (not that he was going to admit it to anyone), especially after dragging him into the mess with Cap and the whole Vulture thing - which he still needed to ask Peter about.

May paused, looking at Tony as though he'd just appeared. "You're sorry?" she asked, unsure if she'd misheard. While she wasn't Tony's biggest fan, she always gave people the benefit of the doubt, that is until they gave her nephew the incentive and tools to potentially get killed.

Tony sighed, rubbing the space between his eyebrows with a finger. "It was not my place to intervene in Peter's life. You're his guardian, and I should have run all of this by you, even if I was sure you'd say no. And I wouldn't blame you if you did, because he's your family. You are supposed to protect him." He stopped for a moment, before turning to Peter. "And I want to apologize to you too, Peter. Because I took advantage of the fact that you wanted to help people. I used you for my own personal gain. I put an underage child in the middle of a war between adults, and that is ... inexcusable."

Peter was staring at Tony, too shocked to respond. The Tony Stark - the Iron Man - had just apologized to him? It was too unreal to comprehend. "Mr. Stark, it's not your fault. I agreed to go with you, and I am responsible for the consequences of that choice," he managed to stammer out.

Tony turned back to May. "You did a hell of a job with him," he said with a grin.

May nodded and rested a hand on Peter's leg. "He's a good kid."

Tony shook his head, "No May. He's a great kid, and his parents and uncle would be proud of him." He took a deep breath, "He had more sense than I did at his age, and it showed in the first conversation I had with him. He understood the risks of what he was doing, but he didn't have the correct tools to keep him safe. So I built him a suit, that was supposed to keep him safe, because the minute he agreed to help me, I felt responsible for him. I still feel responsible for him."

"He shouldn't have been out there in the first place, Tony. You should have stopped him," May replied. "I know he wants to help people, but he's my baby. He's all I have left," she whispered, her eyes welling with tears. Peter quickly sat down next to her and gave her a hug, the front of his shirt slowly becoming damp with her tears. "We lost Richard and Mary. And then Ben. I don't know what I'd do without Peter," she sobbed.

"May, I'm not going anywhere. I promise you. If Mr. Stark said he's trying to keep me safe, I don't have any reason to doubt him," Peter said, rubbing his aunt's back in an attempt to calm her down.

Tony's gut dropped. The kid had that much faith in him? To the point that he'd never question anything Tony told him. He considered this, and realized that he should have spotted this before. Peter had taken Tony's side during the fight with Steve, based only on what Tony had told him. "May, I promise you. I am going to keep him safe."

Peter smiled back at Mr. Stark, "He even installed a Training Wheels protocol in the suit," Peter added, hoping that would make May smile.

It did, and she quickly wrapped the pair in a tight hug. Tony tensed up a little, not used to being hugged by people other than Pepper and Rhodey. May quickly let go, sensing Tony's discomfort. "Okay," she said after a moment. She turned to Peter, "You can keep being Spiderman, but we are coming up with some ground rules." She then turned to Tony, "and I am holding you to that promise, Stark. Anything happens to this kid, and I am going to hunt you down. They'll never find the body."

Tony nodded, "Pepper and Rhodey would probably help you."

She got up and headed back to the kitchen, peering into the pot, the contents of which had turned slightly black and looked even more unappetizing than it did before. "I'm going to run down to Prachya and get us some food. I'll be right back." She grabbed her purse and phone, heading to the door.

"Are you sure May? I can-" Tony began, pulling out his phone.

"No, I need some fresh air anyway," she replied. "But thank you, really." She quickly left, closing the door behind her.

Peter collapsed into the sofa, letting out a heavy sigh. "God, I did not know how that was going to play out. You alright, Mr. Stark?" he asked, smirking slightly as Tony pulled a face.

"Kid, I've fought aliens. This wasn't that bad," he said, attempting to sound nonchalant about the whole conversation. Peter raised an eyebrow as Tony sat down across from him. The pair eyed one another before Tony gave in. "Alright, I was a little scared. Mostly because I didn't bring any back up if your aunt decided to go all MMA on me."

Peter shook his head, "At least you didn't mention the whole 'Vulture' thing. She would have lost her mind."

Tony pulled a face, "so that wasn't level ten?" he asked, nodding to the door May had just gone through.

Peter laughed. "Nope, that was level two."

There was a moment of silence before Tony pushed on. "So the whole 'Vulture' thing..." he trailed off, not knowing where to go with it. He noticed Peter's jaw tighten and the kid looked a little on edge. "Are you sure you're alright?"

Peter nodded. "Yeah... it's just... I didn't plan on putting my Homecoming date's dad in prison."

Tony shook his head, "fair enough. But you crashed a plane on a beach and dragged a grown man out of the wreckage. That's got to take a toll. Speaking from similar situations," Tony added, remembering the Mandarin's attack in Malibu.

Peter sighed and Tony felt kind of bad for the kid. Yes, he'd just argued that Peter was ready to bear the responsibilities associated with being a hero, but on the other hand - he was just a kid. No kid should have to grow up with the weight of the world on their shoulders. He watched as Peter's face slowly aged, the lines in his forehead creasing, and his eyes darkening as he fell deeper and deeper into thought.

"If I tell you something, you promise you won't tell May?" Peter said after a moment, shaking Tony out of his reverie. "It's not bad, it's just. I don't want to stress her out, you know? She's got a lot on her plate now that she knows about Spiderman."

Tony nodded.

"When I went after Toomes, we ended up fighting in this parking garage. I was too distracted and I didn't notice what he was doing... but he knocked down the supports and the building it just... collapsed," Peter said, fiddling with the hem of his shirt. "I got stuck under and I - I was so scared, you know? I didn't know what to do, and I was calling for help. But then I thought about what you said, 'If I was nothing without the suit, I shouldn't have it.'"

Tony's hands tightened, and he quickly placed a hand on the kid's shoulder. "Peter. I was wrong to take the suit. I should have known you were going to go after Toomes."

Peter shook his head, a faint smile on his lips. "No, that's exactly what I needed. When I got out I realized I didn't need a fancy suit. I just needed to believe in myself. It sounds stupid, I know but - "

"Kid. That's one of the smartest things you've ever said to me." Tony said with a grin, "but how did you get out? Was someone else there?"

Peter shook his head, "I lifted it."

Tony paused, before laughing. "Seriously Peter. How'd you get out?"

"I lifted it," Peter repeated.

"You lifted a building," Tony stated, like it was a fact.

"Yes," Peter replied, raising his hands over his head to mime how he got out.

Tony's eyes widened slightly. "Jesus kid, how much did the thing weigh?"

"I dunno, but it was heavy," Peter replied.

"That's something I got to see," Tony murmured under his breath. Unfortunately Peter's hearing was incredibly good.

"You want to drop a building on me?" He asked, looking at Tony as if he were crazy. "I thought you told May you were gonna keep me safe?"

Tony laughed, "Yeah, by training you."

Peter groaned, "like Rocky?"

"Yeah kid, exactly like Rocky."


	2. The One With the First Lab Visit

Nearly two months had passed since Aunt May had found out the whole "Peter is Spiderman" secret. Since then, she had become more involved in Peter's extracurricular actives, namely when it came to making rules - four of them to be precise. She demanded that Peter couldn't go out 'spidermanning" when he had a test or exam the next day, nor was he allowed to stay out past 12 am on a school night. He also had to finish his homework before he went out, which meant that Peter had to reduce the amount of time he spent wandering down Youtube and Tumblr rabbit holes while trying to study. When the rules first went into effect, May stayed up till 12 every night, to make sure that Peter returned home exactly when she said. However, this became an issue when she started becoming a little more sleep-deprived at the hospital, and often showed up to work with bags under her eyes.

She then made the executive decision to reinstate the Baby Monitor Protocol, much to Tony's amusement. The kid's face immediately sank and Tony had to try his hardest not to give in to the kid's puppy dog eyes. May, who had years dealing with Peter, put up a solid front that Tony was able to cower behind. "Peter, I can't keep staying up till you come home-"

"I never told you to stay up May," Peter countered with a grin, but May shook her head.

"I don't care kiddo. I already told Tony to update the monitor. We won't be watching you 'Big-Brother' style. We're just going to keep tabs on you and make sure that you get home on time, otherwise the both of us will be notified," May replied.

Peter turned to Tony, who shook his head. "She's the boss, kid. I just make the toys."

Peter sighed and nodded. "Fine, that's fine."

Oh, and the last rule?

He had to visit Tony every Friday afternoon to work on the suit and make sure all the functions were running.

May knew that Tony was fond of Peter, and wanted to keep the kid safe - that much had become apparent in the conversations they'd had since the Spiderman secret came out. But May wanted to make sure Peter knew Tony was in his corner, and vice versa. After spending time with Pepper, May realized just how upset the whole fight with Captain America had made Tony.

She also wanted there to be some legitimacy when people questioned the internship cover that they'd come up with. And Tony was definitely on board with that. The last thing he needed was for people to connect the dots between Spiderman and Peter Parker. And he wasn't about to admit it to anyone, but he really looked forward to spending the afternoons with Peter.

He knew the kid was smart, that much had been apparent when he first saw the schematics of Peter's original suit, webshooters and formula. But now that he was working alongside the kid, it became clear - he was a genius. An incredibly dorky, nerdy, good-hearted genius. And this became clear on the very first day of the "internship."

* * *

Happy was still the kid's point guard, despite the fact that he was still annoyed with Peter because of the whole 'crashing-a-plane-on-the-beach-and-nearly-dying' thing. He pulled up to the front steps of Midtown High, and waited a minute before the bell rang and watched in horror as the doors burst open and a swarm of students hurled themselves down the stairs racing to the cars and bikes parked along the street. He kept his eyes peeled for the gangly kid, but there was no use. Apparently, all 15-year-olds looked alike.

Just as he was preparing to give the kid a call, he heard someone yell "Parker!"

Happy turned just in time to see a taller kid take a swing at someone walking by. The kid fell to the ground, and Happy's stomach dropped - it was Peter. He quickly hopped out of the car and walked towards the kid, who was on the ground, blood pouring out of his nose.

"Hey Mr. Happy," Peter said thickly, trying to blink the tears out of his eyes. "What's up?" he smiled thinly.

"Yeah, yeah, hold on kid," Happy replied, turning to the taller boy who was watching, eyes wide. "What the hell do you think you're doing, huh?" Happy asked, puffing out his chest, and making sure the kid knew he would squash him like fly if he replied with a dumb answer.

"I - uh... who are you?" the kid quickly responded.

"I'm here to pick up the kid for his internship. Didn't think I'd be picking him up off the ground, though. What the hell did you hit him for?" Happy replied angrily. He always hated bullies.

"I was just playing around-" the kid muttered, attempting to defend his actions.

"Yeah, I call bullshit. You hit him again, you'll have me to answer to. We clear?" Happy asked, whipping his glasses off for dramatic effect (a side effect of working for one of the most dramatic people of the century). The kid nodded and quickly scarpered off, leaving Happy with Peter who, thankfully, had gotten up by then. "You alright kid?" Happy asked, his voice a little more gentle than usual.

"Yeah, yeah. It'll fix itself," he muttered, keeping his head tilted high and pinching the bridge of his nose. Happy steered the kid to the car, and opened the door for him, before getting in himself.

He tossed Peter a handkerchief. "Don't get blood on my car, kid."

Peter laughed, "I'll try not to, sir."

Happy looked back at the kid, who had begun to wipe the blood without a mirror. He seemed to know where every drop would be. "That happen often?" Happy asked.

Immediately the kid's usually bright eyes dimmed, and the smile fell slightly. "Eh, sometimes. It's not too big of a deal though. Speed healing usually takes care of it." Peter winced slightly, as he wiped the corner of his nose.

"I think it's broken. Better show it to Tony when we get to the tower," Happy replied.

"Shoot. Uh, Mr. Happy. Can we just keep this between us? I don't really want Mr. Stark to know about all this. I'm sure he's pretty busy anyway," the kid said quickly.

"Hey kid. It's your call... and Tony's not an idiot. He'd be able to put two and two together. Your better off just telling him the truth. He doesn't like to be lied to," Happy offered after a moment.

Peter was quiet, as he mulled Happy's words over. "Thanks," he said softly.

"No problem kid," Happy said gruffly. He didn't need to get soft on the boy, that was Stark's job.

* * *

As the car pulled up to the tower, Peter cleaned himself up a little quicker. He'd never been so thankful for traffic, as the delay allowed Peter's speed healing to kick in, and his nose was no longer bleeding. Happy pulled towards the curb, and Peter quickly jumped out, heading for the door. A tall man in a dark suit approached him, "you need a card to get in."

"I-oh," Peter faltered.

Happy quickly came up from behind and tossed his keys to the man, "he's with me. Needs to speak to the boss." Happy took out a card and tapped it on the little reader, and with a small "woosh" the doors slid open. He placed a hand on Peter's shoulder and escorted him in, making a beeline for the elevator. Once the doors slid closed, Happy spoke "Tony'll make you a card, it'll let you have clearance so you can come to the upper levels of the tower."

Peter nodded, as he looked down the glass floor. Across the very bottom floor, he could see the large arc reactor that was powering the entire tower. "Wow," he murmured, his face practically pressed up against the glass. He'd always dreamed of seeing the arc reactor, and was especially intrigued in how it worked, but he never thought he'd get the chance. Now here he was in Tony Stark's freaking Tower, on the way to work with Iron Man himself.

The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open, revealing a large laboratory. Peter could see Tony working on a suit on the other side of the lab, which also required a card to enter. Happy knocked on the glass, and with a wave of his hand, the doors slid open. "I got the kid for you," Happy replied.

Peter tried not to laugh, but the way Happy spoke sometimes reminded him of how he imagined mobsters would speak. "Hi Mr. Stark," Peter said brightly.

Tony turned around and gave Peter a strange look. "Hey kid. How was school?" he asked.

"Uhm, pretty good. Had a chemistry test. Aced it," Peter muttered. He didn't know why Mr. Stark was so interested in his school life. It wasn't that amazing.

"Hap, go down to security and get a max. clearance card for the kid," Tony quickly said, and Happy sped towards the elevator. "So, who hit you?" Tony asked nonchalantly, turning back to Peter who quickly went red.

"Uh... what do you mean?" Peter asked.

Tony raised an eyebrow, and placed the wrench in his hand down on the table with a loud thunk. "Answering a question with a question? Not a smart move, kid." He pulled a stool over and gestured for Peter to sit down. The kid dropped his bag and plopped down, looking thoroughly embarrassed. Tony quickly turned a glass screen towards Peter. "FRIDAY, turn on the mirror function," he ordered. Peter groaned when he saw his reflection. His nose was clearly broken and there was still some dried blood on his face.

"I thought I got it all," Peter grumbled as he took the rag Tony offered him and scrubbed off the remaining blood. He winced as he moved closer to the mirror, his finger prodding the bump on the bridge of his nose.

"We're gonna need to set it," Tony said, peering at the kid's face with mild interest.

"Don't worry Mr. Stark, I can do it myself," Peter replied. With his finger and thumb, he quickly jerked his nose to the left, and let out an audible gasp of pain. Tony jumped to his feet and pulled the kid's hand off of ... his perfectly realigned nose. Peter turned to the screen once more and smiled, "Problem solved."

"I wouldn't close the file just yet, kid." He sat back down, smirking at the kid's medical skills. "You never answered my question: who hit you?"

"Some kid at school," Peter replied tonelessly. "Mr. Stark, it's not a big deal-"

"Spiderman gets beat up at school?" Tony asked. "Why don't you just knock him on the side of the head once?"

Peter shook his head. "I mean - it used to happen before I got my powers. If I hit him now, I could really hurt him."

Tony squinted, before getting up, grinning madly. "Follow me." Peter left his bag in the lab as he followed Mr. Stark to the elevator. "FRIDAY, take me to the training room."

"You have a training room?" Peter asked, awestruck. He didn't know the tower was so . . . spacious.

Tony's smile fell slightly, "Yeah. It was useful when the team was... a team."

Peter nodded, not wanting to bring up any bad memories. The Avengers were a touchy subject, and Tony really had taken the brunt of the backlash when Captain America decided to go crazy. The last thing he wanted to do was get kicked out of the tower because he mentioned the Rogue Avengers.

They rode in silence until the elevator dinged once more. Peter's face lit up in excitement when the doors slid open. The training room was huge. A large gym, filled with all types of a equipment was on the left, and on the right was a large obstacle course type-thing, like a maze.

Tony took him to the gym, and made a beeline for a large punching bag in the middle of the room. He stepped on a little panel on the floor and a small screen popped out of the floor, coming level with Tony's face. He quickly clicked a bunch of buttons, and the punching bag began to light up.

"What..." Peter's voice trailed off.

"Kid, hit the bag as hard as you can. I'm going to measure how much force you exerted," Tony said. Peter gave the man a quizzical look, but Tony just responded with an encouraging nod.

"You sure Mr. Stark? I don't want to break it," Peter began.

"Kid, just throw a punch," Tony replied.

Peter sighed and put up his fists. He quickly drew back and threw a weak punch at the bag.

Tony shook his head, "Hit like you mean it."

Peter nodded and turned back to the bag. He imagined Flash's face and immediately his adrenaline spiked, he drew his arm back and hit the bag again, this time, tearing straight through the thick fabric, through the wires inside and out the other end. The bag's chain snapped and it fell to the ground with a loud bang.

Tony stared at the bag and then back at Peter, who went red once more. "Mr. Stark! Ohmygod, I am so sorry! I didn't mean to break it! I shouldn't have hit it so hard."

Tony shook his head and grinned. "Kid, that's incredible. You just punched through a steel-woven bag!"

Peter raised an eyebrow, "and that's a good thing? I broke it, Mr. Stark."

"Kid. Even.. Cap... couldn't break it. It was designed for him," Tony replied, his eyes lit up. "How strong are you?" he asked.

Peter shrugged. "I never tested it. When I got my powers, I didn't know how strong I was. I spent the first few weeks breaking things by accident. That's why I said I can't punch Flash."

"Flash?" Tony asked quickly. "That's the name of the kid who punched you? Jesus, his parents didn't even give him a chance."

"Actually, his real name is Eugene," Peter replied with a smirk, and watched as Tony tried to stifle a laugh. "They really didn't give him a chance," Peter added as an afterthought. "Anyway, that's why I don't want to hit him. I could really mess him up. Plus, I never stood up to him before I was Spiderman, so I can't really do anything about it now."

The maturity of the kid never failed to surprise Tony. If he was Peter's age and had these powers, he'd have made sure anyone who said anything to him had their asses beat. Tony nodded, "I get it, kid. Just don't be afraid to give him a little flick on the side of the head. Or would that be dangerous too? We need to find out your limits." He led Peter out of the room and back to the elevator. "No wonder you were able to stay alive in that onesie," he added.

Peter groaned. "It was a work in progress," he replied.

"So you don't want the suit I made you?" Tony asked, jokingly.

The kid paled, "Nonono, the suit is fantastic Mr. Stark. It's amazing."

Tony nodded, "of course it is. Still never figured out how you made that webbing though."

Peter went red, "I - uh - developed it at school."

Tony turned to the kid, surprised. "You managed to make that webbing with the contents of a high school chemistry lab? Damn, you could do some real damage with the right tools." The doors opened and they were back at the lab. "Luckily for you, I have only the best stocked here."

Peter grinned as he and Tony walked over to a set of computers. "So, what is this web formula?" Tony asked.

Peter hesitated before typing in the chemical formula. He knew he could trust Mr. Stark, that much was clear, but he'd never told anyone the formula. He'd kept the notebook with his web fluid ideas under lock and key (it was hidden in the floorboard under his bed). Tony watched with interest as Peter added different chemicals to the already-complex formula. "Silica gel?" he asked, as Peter typed away.

"Yeah, for purifying the compound, it also acts as an activator. Keeps the fluid hydrated," Peter responded. "Why?"

"Just curious," Tony replied, eyeing the kid. He knew he was smart, that much was clear when he first scouted the kid out. Being a student at Midtown meant he was smart, and his report card was amazing, but to be able to synthesize one's own formula at the age of 15 - well, even for Tony (who had started MIT at the same age), that was incredible.

"That's about it, Mr. Stark" Peter replied, as he backed away from the computer to let Tony inspect the formula. FRIDAY had an interface that allowed such chemical combinations to be digitally mapped out so they could see the potential reactions. The system had become quite helpful when Bruce was staying at the Tower. He'd even designed an updated version before completely vanishing all those years ago.

Tony peered at the screen and watched as FRIDAY mapped out the compound. "Looks pretty good kid," he replied, placing a hand on Peter's shoulder.

"Thanks Mr. Stark!" Peter said, hoping he didn't let too much of his excitement slip into his tone. "I've been trying to think of a way to make it stronger. I mean, it's good, but it could be perfected a little more."

"What were you thinking?" Tony asked, turning to the kid. Peter quickly ran to his bag, and pulled out a notebook. Upon seeing the cover, Tony had to stifle a laugh.

Peter immediately registered why Mr. Stark was laughing. It was a plain white notebook when he'd bought it, but he'd made the mistake of letting MJ draw all over it. She'd done an amazing job, but having an incredibly detailed and realistic drawing of an Iron Man and Spiderman team up while standing next to Iron Man was... a little embarassing to say the least.

"Thanks kid," Tony said, as his laughter subsided.

"I didn't draw that! A friend of mine did," Peter grumbled as he flipped through the pages.

"Mmmhmm 'a friend,'" Tony replied, putting quotations around the word. Peter ignored him and quickly skipped through a few pages, when something caught Tony's eyes. "Wait kid... hold on. Go back a second there."

Peter reddened a little more, and went back, before moving the book towards Tony. There, on two pages, Peter had outlined the current schematic for Tony's Iron Man suit, but the kid had added some new features. Tony looked back at Peter, who was still red-faced. "I was just bouncing around a few ideas. I mean, your suit is great the way it is Mr. Stark."

Tony shook his head as he read over the schematics of Peter's arc reactor. "Nanites?" he asked.

Peter scratched the back of his head. "It's far-fetched I know. But it would be interesting. And it would mean not having to carry a suitcase all the time. I noticed how annoyed you were by that in Germany. Plus the suit is kind of bulky. Your movement was restricted during the fight."

Tony looked back at the kid in surprise. "Nothing gets past you, huh?" He flicked through the next page, which also had different additions to other parts of the suit. "A combined thruster?" he asked Peter, who nodded.

"It might come in useful," Peter replied. He thought back to how War Machine had fallen through the air, and how Tony wasn't able to catch him. He'd sketched this idea later on that same day, when Mr. Stark had taken the team back to headquarters and he was waiting for Colonel Rhodes to come out of surgery.

Tony pursed his lips, knowing exactly why the kid had come up with that idea. He really was a smart cookie. "These are ... really good," Tony said, turning back to Peter. "So, what about that web fluid."

Peter nodded and flipped towards the back, where he'd outlined a couple compounds. "I haven't tried any of them yet, but I wanted to make sure they wouldn't interfere or react with the current formula."

Tony nodded, and had FRIDAY do a scan of the list. "Add it to the current formula and see what would increase the strength without decreasing anything else." He turned back to Peter. "So, can I scan those schematics of yours?"

Peter nodded and Tony did the same. "Let's get working on a new Iron Man," he replied, giving the kid a wink.

Peter nearly passed out.


	3. The One Where Peter Gets a Key

Peter knew Mr. Stark cared about him, he was just never able to tell how much (it was hard to get a read on the billionaire, especially after the fallout between himself and the Rouge Avengers). In the months following their first meeting at the lab, Peter and Tony had become quite close, to the point that Tony had given Peter a key to the penthouse at Stark Tower. But the story behind that was less than exciting.

* * *

Peter was on patrol, but had slowly drifted out of the boroughs of Queens, and was currently perched atop one of the taller residential buildings in Manhattan. While he knew he was cutting it close in terms of returning home (it was 11:35 pm), he couldn't help himself. He was listening intently to the police scanner he and Mr. Stark had managed to integrate into Karen's system, and it seemed as though something big was happening. He peered down at the street, watching several police cars - lights flashing - quickly cut through the traffic and turn left. Peter shot up from where he was sitting, and with a flick of his wrist, he followed closely behind. As he rounded the corner, he spotted several more police cars parked outside of small supermarket. "What the hell?" he murmured, moving closer.

He heard the loud squeal of a megaphone as one of the police officers neared the building. "Aleksei Sytsevich," the officer yelled. "You are under arrest! Please exit the building now!"

Peter watched, listening intently. He spotted someone moving by the windows, and quickly moved closer. Suddenly, the door of the market slid open and a man fired a couple rounds into the hood of a nearby police car. "No! I refuse!" The door slid shut again, and Peter could hear the cop rounding up the others, preparing to make their way in.

"Karen, can I get a heat signature on the building?" Peter asked.

The AI complied, and soon he was able to see the interior. "There are three armed men and seven hostages," Karen replied. "The doors have all been sealed, but the AC unit on the roof of the building is still accessible."

"Map the route," Peter said, before swinging towards the roof. He spotted the large container and quickly tore through the thin gate, and with another flick of his wrist, he shot a web to the top of the unit and began to lower himself into the vents. Karen continued to map out a route to the closest grate, and Peter was able to hear the commotion inside of the market. He could hear the rapid heartbeats of the hostages, who were huddled together by the tills, flanked by two armed men. The third was wandering around at the front of the store, his heavy combat boots dragging across the linoleum. Peter unscrewed the grate and moved it to the side as quietly as he could, before dropping silently to the ground. One of the kids turned to look at him, and his eyes widened. Peter moved a finger to his lips and the kid nodded, looking back at the man near him, whose back was turned to Peter.

Peter tiptoed closer, but heard a large bang and the two men turned to face him. He shot a web out at the two guns the men were holding, and yanked them out of their hands, webbing them to the ceiling. The men stared in shock and Peter quickly webbed one of them up, while punching the other hard enough to knock him out. Peter caught the man and gently laid him on the floor, so as not to alert the third man, before webbing him up as well. He quickly led the group of hostages towards the nearest exit, and broke the lock, letting them all out.

Finally, he moved towards the front of the store, where the third man was still pacing menacingly by the windows, daring the officers to shoot him. Peter waved to the officers, one of which spotted him and alerted the lead cop, who waved back. The man, who was staring at the officers turned, and growled.

"Ah! Spider!" he yelled, grabbing his gun.

"Ah! Thief!" Peter replied, attempting to sound as optimistic as he could. The man fired one shot, which Peter dodged easily as he moved closer, before shooting a web at the man's leg and pulling him down, the large gun in his hand flying off to the right. He shot another web at the man's hand, but heard a loud bang, and felt a searing pain in his left leg. He looked down and spotted the small gunshot wound and the glint of a bullet lodged in his leg. He shot another web at the man, this time pulling the smaller gun (which the man had hidden) out of his hand, and tossed it to the side, before shooting yet another web over the wound on his leg.

"Seriously? I'm gonna be so late for curfew," Peter muttered, as he moved to the front of the market and towards the officers. "It's all good! Bad guys are webbed, and hostages are freed."

"Are you okay, Spider-man?" One of the officers asked, as he drew level with Peter.

"Yeah, yeah. Nothing to a spider like me. I'll leave you guys to it," Peter said, as he shot a web up towards a nearby high-rise and swung out of the way. He could hear the wind whistling around him and as he swung away from the scene, Karen started to ring. "You are losing blood Peter, are you sure you don't want me to alert Mr. Stark?"

"Nah Karen, I'll be able to handle it. The web seems to be holding up fine."

"You have another gunshot wound, Peter, on your stomach," Karen informed him.

"What?" Peter said, looking at his side. Unfortunately, his distraction caused him to whack his left side in to a building, and the impact caused the wound in his leg to flare up again. "Shit!" Peter pulled himself onto a nearby ledge and inspected his abdomen, and spotted another small circular wound, which was slowly oozing blood as well. He shot another stream of web fluid at it, and gasped as it expanded over the wound.

"You are losing a lot of blood Peter. I'd advise you to go to a hospital. The nearest one is -"

"No Karen. I can't go to the hospital."

"Should I call Mr. Stark?" Karen asked once again.

Peter paused. He knew Mr. Stark's lab had enough tools to help him clean and stitch up the wounds. And he knew how to do that from his days of superhero-ing before Stark. "No Karen. Map a course to Mr. Stark's"

"Are you sure you don't want me to call him?" Karen asked with concern. She'd become more human and as a result, more sympathetic in her time working with Peter.

"Yes, I'll be fine" Peter replied, as he headed off again, taking great care not to bodycheck himself into another building. He made his way towards Stark Tower, and spotted the tall skyscraper in the distance. As he swung, he felt a slight tingle on his side, and could feel blood trickling down his side. He continued to swing and soon landed on the side of the building. "Are any windows open?"

"The balcony by the lab is open," Karen replied shortly, causing Peter to sigh. He never thought AI's could get mad, but he knew Karen was annoyed by her tone and short response.

He climbed up as fast as he could, his vision becoming slightly spotty. As he clambered over the rail of the balcony, he began to heave and his breath became short and ragged. He tugged at the door, and it slid open slightly. Not having the strength to pull more, Peter simply shimmied his way in, and began to walk to the lab before tripping over something on the floor. He slammed into the ground and quickly passed out.

* * *

Tony was a light sleeper - if he managed to get any sleep. With Pepper out of town, he didn't really have anyone to remind him when he'd been in the lab for too long. While he wasn't running Stark Industries, he was in charge of the R & D department, which was, in Pepper's words, both a blessing and a curse. While he came out with all sorts of technology to enhance and expand SI, he practically lived in the lab.

Tony was currently sat at his work station, tinkering away on the thrusters for his suit. Peter, on his last visit, had given Tony the idea to create a second level of wiring within the suit, in case the first was tampered with. Midway through his project, FRIDAY beeped loudly.

"Mr. Stark, Mr. Parker has just entered the penthouse," FRIDAY announced coolly.

Tony glanced down at the clock on the screen beside him, which read 12:07 am. Tony felt a slight drop in the pit of his stomach. "What's he doing out so late? The kid's supposed to be home by 12." Tony quickly stood up, and the muscles along his spine cracked, having been hunched over in the same position for several hours. Tony slowly made his way over to the door, slightly annoyed at having to yell at the kid. He hated yelling at Peter, but he knew if the kid didn't think Tony was mad, he'd continue to bend the rules, and he did NOT need a repeat of the Vulture incident.

As he headed up the stairs, he heard a loud bang. "FRIDAY?" Tony asked, his voice wavering slightly,

"It seems as though Mr. Parker has collapsed due to severe blood loss from multiple gunshot wounds," FRIDAY replied tonelessly.

Tony quickly took the steps two at a time and barged through the doors to the penthouse. He glanced around and spotted a red and blue figure lying on the rug behind the sofa. "Shit!" Tony ran over, bending down and pulling the mask off of Peter's face. The kid looked paler than usual and a thin layer of sweat covered his brow. He quickly put a finger on the kid's neck and could feel a pulse, albeit a very faint one. Tossing the mask to the side, he scooped Peter up, and headed towards the elevator. "Medbay, now!"

He tried to ignore how quickly his shirt was becoming wet with blood, and gave Peter a slight shake. "Kid! Peter! You gotta give me something here!" The doors ot the elevator slid open and Tony headed to the nearest bed. He tapped the spider emblem on the suit, and tugged it off the kid, looking down at the bullet lodged in his leg and then the other in his stomach. Tony was hit with a wave of nausea and was glad he hadn't eaten anything in the past few hours.

Immediately, he grabbed the first aid kit and pulled out a pair of large tweezers. With a small tug, he was able to pull the bullet out of Peter's leg. "FRIDAY, do a scan of his abdomen, and let me know if the bullet is safe to remove."

FRIDAY complied and a moment later announced the all clear. Tony quickly cleaned the wound on Peter's leg with some alcohol before wrapping it tightly with gauze. He then moved to Peter's side, and gently pulled the bullet out, keeping one eye on Peter's vitals and the other on the bullet. It was lodged further in, making it harder to remove. Tony couldn't even breathe until he dropped the bullet on the tray next to him. He then grabbed the needle and thread, and began to suture the wound, as he'd seen Bruce do several times before. A minute or two later, he looked down at his handiwork and silently thanked God for Peter's speed healing, because the stitches looked haphazard at best. He wrapped up that wound as well, and told FRIDAY to leave May a message saying Peter stopped by the tower and was going to stay the night.

Tony disposed of everything and grabbed a pair of SI sweatpants and a shirt to give to the kid when he woke up. He left them on the bed beside him and continued to watch the kid with mild relief. _He's gonna be the death of me._

* * *

Peter woke up to the rhythmic beeps of a heart monitor. He opened his eyes gently, and was greeted with the all white-layout of the med bay. He could hear someone's heartbeat and turned to his left, where he spotted Tony sitting on a stool, the upper half of his body lying on Peter's bed. "M'str Stark?" Peter asked, immediately cringing at how raspy his voice sounded.

Tony's head jerked up and he blinked rapidly. "Are you okay?" He asked quickly, turning to face the monitor.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Peter replied, still sounding out of breath. "What happened?"

"That's what I'd like to know," Tony grumbled, as he checked Peter's bandages.

"How'd I get here?" Peter asked.

Tony leant back in his chair, comfortable now that he knew Peter was alright. "Well, I was working in the lab, when FRIDAY told me a little spiderling had just climbed up the water spout." Peter rolled his eyes at this, earning a smirk from the man. "I went to check on said spiderling, when she told me you collapsed due to blood loss." Tony raised an eyebrow, "so I brought you here, fixed you up, and hoped you'd do me the favour of filling in the prequel to my story."

Now it was Peter's turn to smirk. "Well, I was following the police scanners, and there was a hostage situation, and I thought I had enough time to help. So I went, and I managed to get everyone out. But I got a little banged up and I thought it'd be quicker to get here than go back to Queens."

Tony nodded, "uh-huh. But here's where I'm a little lost. Karen is supposed to tell me when you're injured. The suit is designed such that if you get a papercut, I'm alerted. So how two gunshot wounds got past me is a little concerning, don't you think Mr. Parker?"

Peter groaned, "Did you just Mr. Parker me?"

"I did," Tony replied. "So, why'd you tell Karen not to alert me?"

Tony watched as Peter ruffled his hair like he usually did when he was nervous. "Well, I didn't to worry you, Mr. Stark."

Tony nodded, "because showing up here bleeding all over my carpet completely unresponsive doesn't worry me at all," he replied sarcastically.

"I just don't want to be a problem for you," Peter replied, the words falling out so quickly it sounded like one. He paused, "I don't want to feel like I'm always asking you for help, 'cause you're Mr. Stark, y'know? You're a busy guy, and you don't need a problem like me."

Tony started at him for a minute. "Peter. Kid. You're not a 'problem.' In fact, you're the opposite."

Peter turned red, "what d'you mean?"

Tony sighed. "Did I ever tell you how I became an Avenger?"

Peter nodded his head, "Yeah. The New York incident."

Tony shook his head. "No kid. Before that. Back when SHEILD was a thing, I got assessed by Natasha Romanoff-"

"Wait-wait- _Black Widow_ Natasha Romanoff?" Peter asked, his voice increasing in pitch as it usually did when he was excited. "No way."

"Way," Tony replied with a wink. "She said that Iron Man was approved for the Avengers Initiative. But I wasn't."

Peter furrowed his brow, "that makes no sense. You are Iron Man."

"That's what I said!" Tony replied, clapping his hands together, before realizing that wasn't the point of his story. "But that's besides the point. The reason why I wasn't recommended was because I was so worried about everything else, I wasn't taking care of myself." Peter looked at Tony questioningly, not getting it. "Look kid, I've never been the best at being - _emotional -_ and honest with those around me, because I didn't want to worry them. I had it in my head that I was a superhero, and I couldn't be weak, because superheroes aren't weak. And that became the root of my problems, because I wouldn't lean on others when I needed to. I'd wait till things got really bad, and then I would ask for help, and that's - it's not a good thing." He paused in the middle of his speech and said quietly, "what I'm trying to say is that its okay to ask for help. It doesn't make you weak. It's actually the opposite - it makes you stronger."

"Really?" Peter said, looking at his mentor curiously.

Tony nodded. "No one is going to respect you until you learn to respect yourself."

Peter whistled, "Damn. That's a mood."

Tony raised an eyebrow, "what?"

Peter shook his head, "I get what you mean."

Tony nodded. "Good," he stood up and patted Peter on the shoulder. "I already told May you're here. I didn't tell her about this whole thing," here he motioned to Peter's leg and stomach. "I thought it best to leave that to you." Peter nodded and said thanks. "So, I'll go grab us some food and pick up your keys."

"My keys?" Peter asked.

Tony nodded. "Yeah. I think you need a set. You can't always be climbing in through the balcony." The man turned on his heel and was at the door before Peter stopped him.

"Mr. Stark?"

Tony turned back to the kid, "yeah?"

"Thank you."

Tony grinned and headed out the door. "Not a problem kiddo."


	4. The One With Steve and the PSAs

**So I saw this post on Tumblr, and I couldn't resist making it into an actual fic. The idea was posted by veg-gay-terian (love that name btw). Basically, it's what would happen if Peter reenacted Steve's iconic chair sitting move in his PSAs in-front of the "star spangled man with a plan." This takes place after infinity war, and everyone is friends and Thanos is a dead man.**

* * *

It was Friday and the Avengers were sitting in the kitchen of the tower, waiting for Peter and Tony to come back from Midtown. Tony had gone to pick up the kid, who'd gone and gotten himself a week's worth of detentions after falling asleep in the middle of his class. Usually, the kid would make his way to the Tower himself, but due to the inclement weather (aka, piles of snow) and the fact that Peter usually stayed at the tower on weekends, Tony had gone to collect him. Before he'd left, Steve had given Tony a lecture on how he needed to be more strict with Peter's patrol hours, and this information - naturally - had been passed from Tony to Peter on the car ride back to the Tower.

"Peter's here!" came Tony's voice from around the corner. "Hide the food," Tony added, laughing at the end.

"You wouldn't," came Peter's, sounding slightly on edge.

The pair rounded the corner and Peter quickly headed over to the coat rack to hang up his and Mr. Stark's coats. "You keep getting yourself into detention and I just might have to cut out the pizza altogether," Tony replied.

"That's just evil," Peter remarked, making his way to the table.

"C'mon Peter, pull up a chair," Steve said, nodding to the empty seat next to him, his voice sounding strangely authoritative.

Immediately, Peter had an idea. He hadn't seen Steve since his detentions started and well, his detentions always started with Cap's PSAs. He marched over to the table and put his plate down, before pulling the chair out, and swinging it around, sitting on it backwards and resting his arm on the back, all while looking Steve in the eye. "So, I got detention," Peter said, as though he were beginning a story. He watched with a smirk as Steve's face morphed from one of disappointment to one that read "oh shit."

Immediately, Steve's face reddened, and he glanced at Tony who was trying his hardest not to laugh on the other side of the table. The rest of the Avengers watched the exchange in confusion, as Steve slumped back slightly in his chair, hoping the ground would swallow him whole.

"What just happened?" Sam asked from his spot in the kitchen.

"Nothing, Sam," Steve replied quickly, his face growing redder.

"Nah, weren't you gonna lecture the kid?" Sam protested.

"Steve?" Tony prodded. "Weren't you going to ask him about detention?"

Peter nodded, turning back to Steve. "Yeah, I screwed up. I know what I did was wrong, but the real question is..."

"How are you going to make things right?" Tony and Peter chanted in unison, while trying not to laugh.

The rest of the avengers stood in silence, as Steve got up and headed out.


	5. The One Where Peter Was at the Expo

**AHHHH I GOT MY TICKETS TO SEE AVENGERS ON FRIDAY NIGHT. My dad and I are going (he took me to see the first Iron Man film, so it seems like a nice way to bookend the whole thing). Plus, like, I have a lot in common with Tony/RDJ and his character is - legit - me. Oh, so that means no spoliers in the comments and I won't be spoiling anything in my stories even after I've seen it (cause that would be a dick move).**

* * *

Peter, even before meeting Tony, had hundreds of questions about, well, basically everything. In the months after they'd begun their mentor/mentee sessions, Peter found it easier to sneak in his questions under the guise of seeming curious. Currently, the pair were working on updating Karen as well as adding some more web combinations to Tony's preexisting list (which had over 300).

Peter sat on the farthest workbench from Tony, who was currently dismantling parts of the current Iron Man suit, and tossing them over his shoulder into a large bin, as he muttered under his breath. Peter watched with interest as he tugged on a small bundle of wires and tossed them to the side. "What exactly are you trying to do, Mr. Stark?" Peter asked, turning away from the computer and facing the older man.

Tony paused and looked up at the kid, wiping his hands with a nearby cloth. "Armor needs a little bit of work if I'm going to create a nanotech version of it."

"You need to slim it down," Peter said, nodding.

"Right in one," Tony replied, snapping his fingers at the kid. "But first, I need to make sure my assistant is up to date on nanotech," he added, getting up from his stool and strolling over to a stack of books sitting next to DUM-E. "How do you feel about some extra reading?"

Peter smirked, "wouldn't be much of an internship without it, Mr. Stark." He got up and wandered over to the stack of books, before pulling one out and flicking through the pages. As he did, a clump of papers tumbled out, splashed across the floor of the lab. Peter tossed the book back on top of the pile, before collecting the pages. As he gathered them, he noticed they all pertained ot one thing: the arc reactor. He flipped through the first couple pages, before noticing this reactor was different from the one Tony currently used. "Uh, Mr. Stark? I think these belong to you," Peter said, placing the papers next to Tony, who gave them half a glance, before turning back, and grabbing them off the desk.

There was a moment of silence, where Tony flicked through the papers, his left hand absentmindedly rubbing the spot on his chest where the arc reactor used to be. Peter noticed this and waited a moment before asking, in a voice just above a whisper, "do you miss it?"

Tony closed his eyes for a moment, leaning back in his chair. "Do I miss having a bunch of shrapnel in my chest?" Tony replied. Peter would have been a little taken aback, but the response lacked Tony's usual bite when asked a question he wasn't comfortable with. "You'd think the answer would be no, right?" he asked, turning back to Peter, and pulling a stool for him to sit on.

"Well - yes," Peter said after a moment. "But I suppose, like the spider bite, it becomes a part of you." He paused before continuing, "that reactor contained palladium."

Tony sighed, "remember a few weeks ago, when you got shot and nearly bled to death on my carpet?" he asked Peter, who blushed furiously. Tony took this as a yes and continued, "I gave you that whole 'lean on me' speech, about how you need to take care of yourself. For me, it was a lesson I should have learned sooner."

Peter turned in his chair, his entire body facing Tony, giving him his undivided attention. "What do you mean?"

Tony flicked through the papers and pulled out one of the more detailed sketches. "Well, you pointed out that I was using palladium. When I was in that cave in Afghanistan, that was the only thing available to me. Slowly, the more I began to use the suits, the quicker the core would deplete. When it depleted ..." Tony trailed off, letting the kid put the pieces together.

"It would burn in the reactor, and release the chemicals into your body. So you needed to create a core that was sustainable, and not only could power the suit but keep the shrapnel out of your heart. Something to power the electromagnet," Peter said, nodding along. "But you had the palladium core in for over a year, no? That much poisoning, you were bound to have had some side effects, I mean, you were dying."

Tony nodded, "I did, actually. Besides the poisoning, I was a little more - reckless than usual."

"That explains the video of you peeing in your suit, huh" Peter replied, with a smirk. Tony turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "That video was pretty much everywhere, Mr. Stark."

Tony cringed internally, "Was hoping you'd never seen it. " In his head he thought, "but as far as things go, not the worst thing I've ever done."

Peter cocked an eyebrow, "You're talking to a kid who kinda idolized you growing up. I knew everything there was to know. You were the first superhero."

Tony immediately remembered what Yinsen had said to him the cave almost a decade ago, _Don't waste your life Stark._

"I was dying Peter, and I didn't want to tell anyone because that would have made it ... real," Tony revealed with a sigh. "And I started doing crazy things, like racing in the Grand Prix, urinating in suits, or making Pepper CEO - which actually worked out really well, in hindsight," he added.

"And you created a new element," Peter noted, looking at the sheet nearest to him, "which powered the core until you removed it."

Tony nodded, "It's a good thing I managed to figure that out, otherwise we would have been in big trouble," he said, thinking back to the events later that day.

"How do you mean?" Peter asked.

"You might be too young to remember this, but there was this incident at the Stark Expo a few years back and -"

"When the Hammer drones all went batshit?" Peter asked, "Yeah I remember. I was there that night."

Tony raises an eyebrow, "What?"

Peter nodded, "Yeah. Uh, Ben got tickets from work and he took me. We got split up though, when the drones attacked." Peter paused here, before continuing. "You know, that's actually the first time we met?"

Tony paused, "The Expo?"

Peter nodded, before plowing into the story. "After the drones went all MMA on everyone, Ben grabbed me and started running towards the exit to the park. But when we were running, one of the drones fired a missile and it knocked this huge stand over, and Ben pushed me out of the way. When I got up, I couldn't find him, so I just kept running towards the entrance, before I realized that - uh - this isn't what Iron Man would do. So I turned around and I spotted one of the drones walking towards me. I was wearing this iron man mask and gauntlet that I'd made, and the drone locked onto it. It started beeping really loud, but then I felt this gust of wind and something loud fall beside me, and-"

"Nice job kid," Tony whispered under his breath, looking back at Peter with a mixture of shock and pride. "Yeah I remember that." He smirked, "Well what do you know? Peter Parker has been wandering into life and death situations before he got his powers, huh?" His hand hovered over the kid's back before patting him on the shoulder. "Colour me unsurprised."

Peter rolled his eyes in response, "Is this going to lead into another lecture?"

Tony grinned and shook his head, "Nope. I'll save the sermons for dinner." He stood up and stretched before heading back towards the suit he was working on. He waited for a few moments for Peter to turn back to the stack of books, but the kid continued to stare at the arc reactor blueprints. "You alright there, Pete?"

That shook Peter out of his reverie and the kid nodded, "Uh- yeah... Mr. Stark, I think I have an idea for the new suit."

"What're you thinking?" Tony asked, dropping the wrench he'd picked up, and heading back to look at the prints.

Peter pushed one of the sheets towards Tony. "We can use the reactor as a housing unit for the nano-particles. If we can combine the gold-titanium composition of the suit with the adaptability and fluidity of the nanoparticles, your suit could be so malleable you could turn it into pretty much anything," Peter finished, looking incredibly excited.

Tony nodded in agreement, "but how do you plan on executing this idea without knowing the basics?"

Peter scoffed, "who came up with the idea for a nanotech suit?" he countered, rendering Tony speechless. "You really think I would have suggested a suit composed of science I _don't_ understand?"

This time it was Tony's turn to roll his eyes, "Wow. Someone's beginning to get sassy. I guess the hero worship's faded away now."

Peter feigned confusion. "Mr. Stark, I thought you knew? Thor was always my favourite avenger anyways."

Tony whirled around, "YOU'VE NEVER MET HIM!" he cried.

"I have in here," Peter replied, tapping his chest, much to Tony's amusement yet frustration.


	6. The One Where Pepper & Rhodey Meet Peter

**So I watched Endgame on the 26th. It was ... a lot. I cried. I laughed. I cried some more. My heart rate was higher than it's ever been, like your girl came close to having a heart attack. But it was good. I stan. Don't wanna spoil, so I'm gonna move on.**

 **BTW, I saw some really good ideas in the** **comments for one-shots, and there were a few that I really liked. I was working on this chapter before, so imma finish it and then do a couple of those. I'm also really into the Bi Peter Parker stories, cause they're hilarious and I relate hard, so I might incorporate that into this linear story. I mean, we all saw Peter's reaction when Quill said Thor wasn't handsome (kills me every time). But feel free to add more requests to the comments if you have them. I'm also not opposed to tumblr prompts that people want to be made into fits (i don't have a tumblr account, but just hit me with the link or something).**

 **Feel free to send them my way. I was gonna say to keep the comments spoiler free, but lets face it, we all knew what was gonna happen. We been knew.**

 **This one-shot is about Pepper and Rhodey meeting Peter/Spiderman. It's a long chapter, hence why it took so long to write.**

* * *

In spite of being at the compound and at Stark tower a lot, Peter had never met Pepper Potts or Colonel James Rhodes/Iron Patriot/War Machine. But it wasn't for a lack of trying, because he really was. He just had really shit timing, as Mr. Stark loved to remind him.

He'd just been dropped off to the Compound by Happy, and immediately upon spotting the Avengers logo on the side of the building, felt a small twinge of excitement and of relief. There were small moments when he did wonder what his life would have been like if he'd accepted Tony's offer to become an official member of the Avengers, but then he thought of having to sign the Accords, revealing his identity, living away from May (which was impossible - he could never leave her) and having to follow the arbitrary rules and regulations set out by a bunch of people he's never going to meet, nor will he see eye-to-eye with when it comes to politics.

Peter let these thoughts roll over him for a moment, before shouldering his bag and taking the steps two at a time, and heading in to find Mr. Stark. He wandered through the first door, and found himself greeted by FRIDAY. "Good Afternoon, Mr. Parker."

"Fri, can you please just call me 'Peter'? You know how I feel about this "Mr. Parker" stuff," Peter replied sheepishly, staring at the small panel on the wall in front of him. He'd never get used ot the fact that two of the most comforting voices he's ever known were those of AIs.

"Strange, 'cause you know how I feel about the "Mr. Stark" stuff," a voice said from behind him. Peter turned and nodded, trying not to go red as he remembered the last time Mr. Stark had tried to get him to call him by his first name. Tony was dressed in a pair of jeans and an old Def Leppard shirt covered in oil stains. He wiped his hands on an oil rag, which was steadily making his hands dirtier. "Bit hypocritical, don't you think?" He slung an arm over Peter's shoulder and led him to the elevator down the hall.

Peter shook his head, "I don't think it's hypocritical. You have to admit, 'Mr. Stark' has a nice ring to it, you know? It's like ... Mr. Feeny, y'know?"

Tony cocked an eyebrow, "Who is Mr. Feeny?" he asked as they entered the elevator.

Peter dropped his bag in shock. "You've never seen Boy Meets World?" he asked, looking positively shocked.

Tony shook his head, "why would I need to watch a kid's show?" he asked, rolling his eyes.

Peter groaned, and Tony tried to hide a laugh. Watching Peter stress out about his lack of pop culture knowledge was his favourite thing to do. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he found it to be one of the cutest things ever. Yes, that's right, Tony Stark found this child adorable. He was - to use Peter's Gen Z lingo - a cinnamon bun that must be protected (the kid spent a lot of time on Tumblr, as Tony had recently discovered).

"Boy Meets World is not a kid's show. It's a show for both the young -" here he indicated to himself, "and the-"

"If you say "old" I swear to god," Tony quipped.

"- youthfully challenged?" Here he gestured to Mr. Stark, who stared at the kid for a moment, who was trying to hide his shit-eating grin.

"Thanks Pete, thanks" Tony replied, the corners of his mouth twitched, trying to hide his grin as they exited the elevator into his personal quarters. He'd been spending so much time with the kid that it wasn't at all surprising that he'd become comfortable with him. Nothing made Tony happier than the first time Peter sassed him, and when he'd finally stopped stuttering around him. It was endearing at first, but soon it made it a little awkward. "So, excited to spend the next couple days here?" Tony asked, drawing the conversation to an area he was least likely to be reminded of his increasing age.

"Oh yeah," Peter said, positively quaking with energy. The kitchen was pretty big, with lots of sitting space. There was a row of barstools by the island and a large table next to it. There was also a small bar in the corner of the kitchen which was completely devoid of alcohol. The sofas were huge as well, and the television was practically the size of the wall it was mounted on. He looked around the living room, and the kitchen briefly, and imagined what it must have been like when there were more than just a couple people living here. He hadn't known Mr. Stark for all that long, but he'd seen first hand what the split in the Avengers had done to the man. If he wasn't involved in a conversation or working in the lab, he would morph back into his dejected and bored persona usually reserved for politicians and the paparazzi. The prospect of having the kid there for the next three days brightened Tony's mood - he never thought he'd be glad to hang out with a teenager. When Peter first mentioned that he had Friday off, the offer to stay at the compound rolled out of Tony's mouth instantly.

"Great, let me take you to your room, you can drop off your stuff, freshen up, all that jazz, and then meet me back in the kitchen," Tony said, leading the kid down a long hallway.

Peter walked behind him, listening as Tony pointed out who lived where. 'This is Rhodey's room. You might get to see him this evening, if he manages to get back on time from Washington." Tony pointed to another door, "this is Vision's room. He's not too big on doors, so be aware, he might just phase into your room at any given time." Tony stopped at the door and stared at it for a moment, "I haven't seen him in a while, but he'll turn up." Tony paused and pointed to a door at the end of the hallway, "that's my place, and you are over here," he said, gesturing to the door on their left.

"Great," Peter said, opening the door. He expected to be greeted by a regular room, with a bed and a dresser and a small washroom. He did not, however, expect his room to be the size of his and May's entire apartment. "Holy shit," Peter whispered under his breath, as he wandered into the room. It was very ... him. He didnt know where Tony managed to find Spiderman bedsheets, or an iron man chair. He didn't know the man had paid so much attention to the blue colour of Peter's bedroom walls (blue was his favourite colour). He spotted the large desk in the room, which was fitted with the latest Stark tech, and he definitely didn't miss the closet and drawers that were filled with new clothes and shoes.

Tony stepped in behind, grinning. He knew the kid and his aunt had a rough time financially, and even though he tried to offer the kid money every now and again, he knew Peter was too stubborn to take 'charity,' as he'd been reminded on countless occasions. "You like it?"

"I - uh, I don't know what to say," Peter stammered, turning back to Tony. "Thank you so much Mr. Stark."

"No problem Pete," Tony replied, patting him on the shoulder. "I'll leave you to it. Need to clean up myself," he said. "I'll see you in the kitchen in ... half an hour?"

"Sounds good," Peter replied. "And Mr. Stark?"

Tony stopped, hand resting on the door knob, "yeah kid?"

"Thanks again," Peter replied, grinning.

Tony smiled, and shut the door, allowing himself to grin even more as he wandered over to his and Pepper's room.

* * *

Peter quickly showered and changed, not wanting to keep Tony waiting. He checked the time on his phone, and realized he had about 20 minutes to kill. He wandered back outside to the kitchen and was going to pour himself a glass of water when his senses alerted him.

He quickly whipped around and spotted the elevator doors about to slide open. Jumping up, he quickly stuck to the ceiling and moved to the elevator, grateful that the ceilings in the building were so high. He watched as a man stepped out of the elevator, Happy carrying his bags for him.

"- then, Ross wanted me to do some other shit, and I told him to fuck off, but in Washington-speak, y'know? He's really starting to get on my nerves. Asking where everybody is, like I'm Cap's keeper. It's ridiculous," Rhodey said. He grimaced, and wandered over to the couch, and Happy quickly deposited his bags in his room, before heading back into the elevator to go down to security.

"Tony here?" Rhodey asked.

"Yeah, he's probably in his room freshening up," Happy replied as the doors shut. Rhodey slowly lowered himself onto the sofa, the prosthetics whirring as he lifted his legs up and rested them on the ottoman in front. He took out his phone and tapped away for a couple minutes before turning it off. He paused, peering at the screen, noticing the faint and distorted reflection of something on the ceiling. Rhodey, trying not to make it obvious, slowly moved his legs off the sofa and onto the ground as he stood up once more. He stretched, trying to seem casual, but really gearing himself up for a fight, and slowly shuffled over towards the kitchen. He heard a very, very faint noise above him and instantly, pulled out his gun, and aimed it at the figure on the ceiling. "Who are - what the fuck?"

He expected to be greeted by a SWAT agent, or one of Ross's men - or on the off chance a new addition to the rogue avengers. He did **not** expect to see a 12 year old boy stuck to the ceiling.

"Oh my god, its War Machine!" Peter whisper-screamed excitedly, trying not to hyperventilate.

Rhodey continued to stare at the kid in disbelief. "Oh my god, who the fuck are you?" he repeated, imitating the boy. He put the safety back on and lowered the weapon slightly. While he was sure the kid was a kid, he didn't want to take any chances.

Peter unstuck himself from the ceiling and dropped down onto the ground. "Hi, I'm Peter Parker," he said, stretching out a hand that the man ignored. He slowly made his way towards the sofas.

"You say that like it explains why you're crawling around on the ceiling of the most secure building in the world," Rhodey replied, tucking his gun away. This kid - definitely not a threat, he thought as he followed the kid to the sofas.

"Oh, sorry, I'm uh, I'm well..." he stammered. Rhodey gestured as if to say "spit it out kid." "I work for Mr. Stark," Peter finished lamely, his hand rubbing the back of his neck as a faint blush crept up his face.

"You work for Tony? Dude, you look like you're twelve," Rhodey replied as he sat back down. "No offence."

"I'm 15," Peter replied, trying not to sound indignant. "I'm his intern," he added.

"Tony Stark does not have interns," Rhodey replied.

"Actually, I can have whatever I want," Tony replied, walking out of the hallway and into the kitchen. "Want anything Hon?"

"Water's fine," Rhodey replied, not taking his eyes off the kid.

Tony came by a second later, tossing Rhodey a bottle of water, and dropping a bag of mixed veggies, a tub of dip and a large 2 litre bottle of juice in front of Peter. "Eat. You look dead on your feet."

Peter nodded in thanks and tore open the bag and the dip, offering both to the two men who declined, before digging in. Rhodey watched with mild concern as the kid inhaled the vegetables and chugged the juice. "Jesus, where did you find this guy Tones?" Rhodey remarked as Peter shoved four carrots and a wedge of broccoli into his mouth at once.

"He's... a bit of a long story," Tony replied, looking kind of sheepish. He was not looking forward to Rhodey's reaction when - if - he'd ever found out about Peter. That's why he'd chosen to keep the kid in the dark.

"No shit. He was stuck to the ceiling when I found him. What's up with that?" Rhodey replied.

Tony opened his mouth when he caught Peter's eye, unsure of whether the kid wanted Rhodes to know. Peter nodded, and spoke for himself. "I'm Spiderman."

Rhodey's mouth dropped open as he stared at the pair. "Spiderman? He's -" he turned from Peter to face Tony, "He's a kid!"

"Actually, I'm 15. I told you that two minutes ago," Peter replied. "And no one's gonna take someone named 'Spider-kid' seriously, so..."

Tony nodded, "I thought I told you all this?"

Rhodey shook his head, "I thought you were fucking around. I didn't know you were serious! His moniker is one he has yet to grow in to. Why are you-" Rhodey cut himself off, shaking his head. "Tony, you've done some dumb shit, I know - I've been there to oversee most of it. But this," he pointed to Peter, "this is something else."

Before Tony could reply, Peter piped up, "Actually, I'm the one who started doing the "dumb shit." Mr. Stark is just making sure I'm being careful." He put the lid back on the now-empty container of dip and leant back on the sofa, drinking his juice. "He tried to talk me out of this whole thing at first." Peter waited a moment, considering the following words carefully, "He's not as crazy as you think," Peter added, remembering what Mr. Stark has said to him after the ferry fiasco. _Did you know I was the only one who believed in you? Everyone else thought I was crazy to recruit a fourteen year old kid._

Tony turned to Peter and exchanged a silent _thank you._

Rhodey considered this for a moment, before speaking, "I guess you're already in too deep, huh? And tired of people telling you to quit?"

Peter nodded. "I mean, you can tell me to quit all you want, I'm just not gonna listen," he quipped, earning a smirk from Rhodey.

"You've been spending too much time with this one," Rhodey jerked his head towards Tony, who pulled a face. "Does Pepper know?"

Tony nodded, "She knows, but she hasn't _actually_ met him yet."

"And she's cool with all this?" Rhodey asked. Peter turned to face Tony as well, wondering what Miss Potts' reaction was.

"I wouldn't say _cool_ , but she was ... okay with it?" Tony said, sounding somewhat unsure of himself. "I don't know, we kinda drifted away from the conversation. It was very brief."

Rhodey shook his head, and checked his messages, "Well we're gonna find out Pepper's reaction today Spiderboy."

"What do you mean?" Peter and Tony replied in unison.

"Tony, it's the last Thursday of the month. Pepper's coming? We're gonna have family dinner?" Rhodey reminded him. "That's why I timed my flight for today?" He turned to Peter, "You'd think someone who could create an AI like FRIDAY would be able to remember shit, huh?"

Peter nodded, but his stomach was a little twisty. He didn't know that Mr. Stark was going to have a family dinner, otherwise he would have come up to the Compound tomorrow afternoon instead. Before he could say anything, the elevator door slid open and a tall woman with red hair waltzed in, eyes on her phone.

"Hi Rhodey, Tony. Who's the kid?" She asked, without looking up.

Tony patted Peter on the back. "Peter Parker, meet Pepper Potts. Pep, this is the kid." Peter stood up quickly and made to shake Pepper's hand.

Pepper lowered her phone and joined the pair, shaking Peter's hand. "It's nice to finally meet you! I thought Tony was hiding you from me." She sat down next to him and tossed her phone on the sofa. "So, you're Spiderman?"

Peter simply nodded, "I-uh, yeah ... that's me."

"Would you like to join us for dinner, Peter? I'd really like to get to know you more, before Tony corrupts you," Pepper joked.

"Yeah. Yeah, that'd be great!" Peter replied, trying to contain his excitement.

"Great, I'm going to get changed, and Tony can whip us up something," Pepper said, grabbing her phone and heading off to her's and Tony's room down the hall.

Peter turned to Tony, "you can cook?" he asked with interest.

"Don't sound so surprised kid, I'm not a savage!" Tony replied indignantly. "Cooking is just chemistry you can eat," he replied smartly.

Peter nodded in response. "Words to live by," he said smartly, before getting out his bag and pulling out the remainder of his homework (he'd finished the bulk of it during the drive up to the compound) and a pair of earphones.

Tony shook his head and ruffled the kid's hair before heading to the kitchen, "too much sass ain't a good look on you Pete," he said with a wink. Rhodey continued to watch the kid with mild interest before heading over to the kitchen, not wanting to distract the kid, preferring to distract his friend.

Rhodey perched himself on one of the barstools and watched as Tony took out the ingredients for lasagna. "So..." he murmured, looking at Tony.

"What?" Tony replied, without looking up. He knew just by Rhodey's tone that the man had something on his mind. He internally groaned as he began cutting up some tomatoes.

"Is he yours?" Rhodey whispered, nodding back to Peter.

Tony narrowly missed cutting a finger, and stopped to eye Rhodey. "What? What makes you think that?"

Rhodey had to stop himself from laughing. Tony looked like a deer caught in headlights. "I mean, you always said you never wanted an intern cause you didn't 'need to spend time explaining shit to someone when you could do it yourself'," Rhodey replied, putting quotes around Tony's words.

"Well fortunately the kid's a genius, so I don't have to explain anything - he just gets it," Tony replied, filling a pot with water to boil.

"Well if Peter is as smart as you say..." Rhodey nodded his head.

"No. Jesus. He's not mine," Tony replied quickly, getting flustered much to his surprise. It wasn't like they hadn't had this conversation before. Tony's past was public knowledge and he wasn't always the safest when it came to sex, especially in his twenties. Every now and again, women would pop up and say that he'd fathered a child with them, which terrified Tony for the briefest of moments before he'd see the negative results of the paternity tests.

Rhodey watched his friend for a couple moments, before being joined by Pepper who asked Rhodey about his trip to DC. The man groaned and launched into the story about how Ross was being a "pain in the ass" and generally "needed to go back to hell."

* * *

Thankfully, Peter managed to finish his essay for english by the time Tony had finished cooking. "Hey kid, you hungry?"

Peter tossed his book on the sofa and vaulted over it, helping set the table without being asked. Pepper raised an eyebrow, "what a gentlemen." Peter and Tony both made to pull Pepper's chair out for her, but Peter conceded, grabbing a jug of water and bringing it to the table.

"Gonna be a shame when he loses his manners," Rhodey replied, nudging Tony.

"Hey, I am not that bad of an influence, am I Pete?" Tony said, defending himself as he poured the kid a huge slice of lasagna - he was a growing boy. He needed the food.

Peter nodded in thanks as he took his plate, "You're great! Best mentor I've ever had - granted I've only ever really had one superhero mentor, but really, I couldn't ask for anyone better." Peter paused, noticing the looks he was getting from the three adults. "I'm rambling, aren't I?"

"I'm a fan," Pepper announced, looking at Peter with sparkling eyes. Peter blushed slightly, as he took Pepper's plate and passed it to Mr. Stark. "I think you're pretty amazing too Miss Potts. I mean, like people can run companies, you know, but you really do care about SI, and it comes across in all of the stuff you've helped advance. Like reallocating funds to renewable energy departments and creating products that have minimal impact on the environment? It's mind-blowing. More CEOs should be taking cues from you - Mr. Stark couldn't have picked anyone better," he said, returning the plate - now laden with food - to her.

Pepper's eyes shone, and she rested a hand on Peter's arm. "I love him," she said with a grin.

"My Aunt May says its in my genetics. People find it hard to resist the Parker charm," Peter said with a smile. "But it never works in my favour when I'm trying to get out of my chores. Or when I'm grounded. Basically, it doesn't work on her," he concluded, as the trio laughed. Pepper and Rhodey watched with interest as Peter and Tony moved, both pouring pepper and salt on their food, tossing a pinch of salt over their left shoulder. They both knocked the lasagna over, so the pasta was vertical before rolling it up with the fork and cutting a piece. It was freaky, how in sync the pair were.

"Don't take it personally, kid. She resisted my charm as well," Tony replied, winking at Peter, while Pepper smirked and muttered "that poor woman."

"So, Peter, you live with your aunt?" Rhodey asked, as he poured Peter some water.

"Uh yeah," Peter replied, sounding a little more nervous. He always found it easier to talk about everything except himself, but he knew they'd ask Tony about this later, so he figured he may as well get it out of the way. "My parents died when I was four - plane crash. So I stayed with my Aunt May and Uncle Ben. He died about 10 months ago," Peter trailed off. He never told anyone, except May, about what had really happened that day, and it wasn't something he felt comfortable sharing - it was his burden to bear after all.

"Peter, I'm so sorry," Pepper muttered, patting him on the shoulder.

Peter shook his head, "It's okay. I mean, I've got May. Some people - some people don't have anyone." He paused for a moment, "I think I'm pretty lucky" he added.

"He's incorruptible," Tony stated, grinning at the kid. For someone that had been dealt a shit hand, he was always optimistic, to a nauseating degree. In the beginning, Peter reminded Tony of Steve, but he realized the kid was better than Rogers - Peter could admit he was wrong.

Peter smiled back. "So, this climbing on the walls thing - is that you or?"

Tony and Peter exchanged a look, and Tony nodded with interest. "I actually don't know how that happened either," Tony said suddenly. The other three turned to him, "What? We never got to that part of the conversation when I recruited you."

"How long've you been doing this kid?"

Peter nodded, rubbing the back of his neck like he did when he was nervous. "I had a field trip to Oscorp last year -" immediately, the three adults exchanged apprehensive looks. They weren't the biggest fans of Oscorp, or the Osbournes, especially considering all the times Oscorp had tried to steal SI secrets and employees. "And I ended up wandering off from the tour group -"

"and you found trouble?" Pepper asked, with a laugh.

"More like trouble found me," Peter replied. "I ended up wandering into this room, where they were breeding radioactive spiders, and I got bitten by one. Didn't feel anything, but I was really sick- like a really really bad version of the flu - for a couple days, and then suddenly I got better. I didn't need my glasses, I got really strong, my senses are all enhanced and I have some spider-like tendencies," he finished lamely.

"Spider like tendencies?" Rhodey asked.

"Well, I can stick to walls, and I prefer to be upside-down sometimes - like when I'm studying and sleeping. And I'm really agile," he added.

"Interesting," Pepper said, wondering what May thought the first time she found Peter dangling from the ceiling asleep.

"It's never a dull moment in the lab with him," Tony added with a laugh as he told Pepper and Rhodey about the first time he walked in to Peter walking on the ceiling of the lab.

* * *

Peter headed to bed a few hours later, thoroughly tired after waking up early for a decathalon meeting in the morning. He said his goodnights and headed to his room, the trio of adults waiting with bated breath until Peter's door shut.

"So, what do you think?" Tony asked, turning to the pair, rubbing his hands together.

"He's amazing!" Pepper said. "For someone who's seen so much, he's so ... so -"

"Optimistic?" Tony offered.

"Happy," Pepper replied. "I mean, especially for a teenager. Usually they're incredibly moody.

"I know I was," Tony said.

"Amen to that," Rhodey replied, earning himself a swat on the head by Tony. "So ... he yours?"

Pepper whipped her head around to Tony, interested to know what the answer would be.

"What? Why would you think that?" Tony replied indignantly. Not that there was anything wrong with being Peter's dad - he just wasn't.

Pepper and Rhodey exchanged knowing looks. "You guys were so in sync when we were having dinner. Like, he was your mini-me," Rhodey replied.

"Plus, you do look a little similar. Dark brown eyes-" Pepper offered.

"Those are quite common," Tony stated.

"Curly brown hair," Rhodey offered.

"Incredibly smart," Pepper added.

"Similar personalities," said Rhodey.

"Okay, I get it. Jesus," Tony said. "But- he's not mine, and before you ask, I checked."

Both Rhodey and Pepper were taken aback at this, "Really?" they asked in unison.

Tony rubbed his temple, "I mean, the thought didn't cross my mind until about a month or so after I made him my intern. So I checked with a glass he used. And it was negative." Tony remembered how nervous he was when he ran the test, but it wasn't a bad nervous, it was actually a good nervous. Either way was a win in his book. If it came back positive - Peter was a great kid, and an amazing person. He was already getting along with him, so it couldn't be better. if it came back negative, which it did, it meant he didn't miss out on 15 years of Peter's life.

They spent the rest of the night talking about the Accords, SI, and other random things, before Rhodey and Pepper headed off to bed. Tony was about to head off as well, knowing he'd need the sleep if he was going to be at all functional for the duration of Peter's stay. He responded to a couple emails, read several more, and checked the time. _2:46 AM._ He sighed and leaned back, resting his head on the back of the sofa, eyes closed.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps coming from the hallway. Tony opened his eyes, half-expecting Pepper to be hounding him to go to bed. He didn't expect to see Peter, eyes red, heading to the kitchen to grab some water. "You alright Pete?" Tony asked, joining him in the kitchen.

Peter nodded, rubbing his eyes, "Yeah. Just wanted some water." Tony nodded, and pulled out a glass before thinking better of it.

"Sit down kid, I'll make us some hot chocolate." Peter nodded, heading to the sofas as Tony busied himself with the kettle. A couple minutes later, Peter found himself curled up on the two seater, Tony next to him, sipping on his hot chocolate thoughtfully.

"Thanks Mr. Stark," Peter murmured, not wanting to be too loud. He was wide awake, but he knew Mr. Stark was trying to wind himself down a little before heading off to bed.

"I found this helps better than alcohol," Tony said, before adding "with the nightmares that is."

Peter turned to Tony, "You get them too?" he asked, sounding concerned. He wasn't blind - he knew Mr. Stark ran on little to no sleep, and what with the whole Rogue Avengers thing Mr. Stark was more on edge than ever. He just figured it was stress - one of the side effects of being a genius, billionaire, philanthropist and superhero.

Tony nodded, "Yeah. Been having them since Afghanistan. They've changed though, based on what's been happening around me." _And to me_ , Tony added in his mind _,_ remembering last night's nightmare which involved Cap smashing his shield into his chest, cracking right through him.

"The Avengers" Peter stated, looking at Tony with concern.

Mr. Stark shook his head, "Well - now - yes."

"Siberia" Peter added, and Tony nearly choked on his hot cocoa.

"How did you - what?" Tony spluttered, looking at Peter, now wide awake.

"Mr. Stark, don't take this the wrong way, but you looked like shit when you and Happy dropped me off at home. You had all these bruises. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what happened."

Tony stared at the kid for a moment before sighing in defeat. "Yeah kid. Siberia."

Peter nodded, "Did you ever tell anyone?"

Tony clicked his tongue, "I tried to deal with it myself, which never works by the way. They got worse after that."

"What were they about?" Peter asked.

Tony sighed, "I had really bad PTSD after the whole New York thing. When I went into the wormhole ... what I saw. Afterwards I started building suits every day - like I had a couple dozen. I'd get panic attacks when someone would mention New York or space or anything like that. I'd get these bad dreams about everyone around me getting hurt and me -"

"Not being able to stop it," Peter interjected. "I know those ones, Mr. Stark. I get them too."

Tony's insides curled at the thought of Peter waking up on the edge of a nervous breakdown. "How often?"

"Couple times a week," Peter replied. "I tried talking to Ned about them, but he doesn't seem to get it. Which, I guess is a good thing, 'cause he'd have to go through it to understand it, and I don't want him to have to do that."

Tony stared Peter for a moment, unsure of how someone could be so purely good. "What about yours?"

Peter ran a finger around the rim of his now empty mug. "The Vulture sometimes. But mostly my uncle," he faltered off. "It's my fault, what happened to him."

Tony placed a comforting hand on Peter's shoulder, "No it's not. There's nothing you could've done."

Peter shook his head emphatically. "No, that's just it, Mr. Stark. There's so much I could have done, but I didn't because I was being stupid and irresponsible." Tony shook his head, but Peter continued. "I was messing around with my webbing and I lost track of time. When I got home, Ben started yelling at me, telling me I wasn't being responsible and stuff. And - God - I got so mad, and I started yelling at him - saying things I didn't mean... I told him he wasn't my dad ... that I hated him. That's the last thing I ever said to him. And I ran off and he came after me, so I ducked into this convenience store but the guy at the register got mad cause I didn't have any money. And then this other guy came out of nowhere, and robbed the place, and I didn't do anything cause I was angry. Then he ran down the street, and into Ben and ... he shot him." The tears that had been pooling in Peter's eyes made their way down his face.

"Peter I'm so sorry," Tony said, rubbing the kid's back. "But you couldn't have known that was going to happen."

"That's what gets me out of my twin bed in the morning," Peter said. "I feel guilty, and this - Spiderman - hopefully that's enough, y'know?" he said, turning to Tony.

 _Don't waste it. Don't waste your life, Stark_.

"I know kid, I know," Tony replied sadly. "It's more than enough." He paused, considering his next words carefully. "You remind me of Steve sometimes," he said, his ex-friend's name catching in his throat for a moment.

Peter looked up at Tony, "Really?" he said, slightly incredulous.

"You don't sound pleased about that. Everyone wants to be Captain America," Tony replied, sounding somewhat bitter, as he reminisced on his conversations with Howard.

Peter shrugged. "He's okay. But he's no Tony Stark," the kid replied, giving Tony a nudge and a small smile.

Tony shook his head, "Kid I'm not that great. I've made a ton of mistakes Rhodey and Pepper are so keen on reminding me of."

Peter nodded, "Everyone makes mistakes, but not everyone is smart enough to learn from them."

Tony smirked, "big mood, kid. Big mood."

Peter's eyes widened. "Oh my god, I'm corrupting you." Tony laughed, "I never saw this coming," Peter added.

"Rhodey and Pep are gonna be real surprised about that one," Tony replied. Peter blushed a little, but enough for Tony to notice. "What's on your mind, kid?"

"They both thought I was your son," Peter replied tonelessly. Before Tony could ask, Peter simply added "super-hearing."

"Oh yeah," Tony replied, thinking of the conversation the three had after Peter went to bed.

"You actually checked?" Peter asked, trying not to laugh.

Tony shrugged, "never hurts to get all the information. I mean, I saw your birth certificate -"

"You saw my birth certificate?" Peter cried. "Never had you pegged for a stalker Mr. Stark."

Tony rolled his eyes, "whatever kid. You secretly love the attention."

Peter shook his head, "Nope. That's one thing I didn't inherit from you" he replied sassily.

* * *

Rhodey and Pepper had seen Tony in a lot of weird situations. But walking in on him asleep on the sofa with a kid was definitely the weirdest. The pair were curled up on opposite ends of the sofa, both tucked under the same blanket.

Pepper sneakily took a photo on her phone, "I'll send it to you," she said, before Rhodey could ask.

"Add it to the blackmail folder," Rhodey replied as they both went to the kitchen.

"You kidding me? I'm framing this one for the mantle," Pepper replied with a laugh.


	7. The One Where I Rip Your Hearts Out

**AU where Peter does the Snap. I'm about to make you bitches cry.**

 **So this is based on two requests that I got (low-key, I wanted to do this idea the moment I saw it). I wanted to take my time with this one (its really long), plus I'm moving so I have a lot going on, and haven't had much time to sit and write. I have the ideas all in my head, its just getting the time to sit and write them. Hopefully, if I have enough time, I'm gonna have another oneshot in the next week, so keep your eyes peeled!**

 **PS - lemme know if you want me to make this into a separate story, cause I kind of like the idea of a fix-it.**

* * *

 **PETER's POV**

 _This feels so fucking weird,_ I thought, as my consciousness pieced itself together. My body hadn't returned yet, but I could feel this strange burning pain - something I had only felt at one other point in my life. Thinking hard, straining my thoughts, I remembered Titan

 _Mr. Stark, I don't feel so good._

In an instant, the feeling of his body attempting to knit itself back together as it unraveled like a piece of cloth returned. It was painful - excruciating to be honest - but, altogether preferable than the abyss in which I was floating in before. Tentatively, I opened an eye, wincing as the reddish yellow light pierced my brain. Before, it was all darkness.

"Parker, get up!" A voice in front of me yelled. "UP!"

Groaning, I stood, eyes still recovering from the sudden burst of light. "What's happening? Where's Mr. Stark?" I asked, looking around me. I spotted the antennae girl and the guy with the leather jacket that went all berserk when we were fighting Thanos. _Oh yeah, I'm in space._ _Thanos. Purple dude with the weird-ass glove thing with the rocks. I remember now._ I jerked around, "Where's Mr. Stark? And the blue girl?"

The man came forward, the last of his red cape piecing itself together. "Strange?" I asked. He nodded in response.

"Up kid. It's been five years. They need us," and with that, he turned on his heel, cape swooshing behind him, and marched over to check on the others.

"What the hell?" I murmured. "Karen?" I asked, hopeful, but receiving nothing in response. _Oh yeah, AIs don't work in space._ I made a beeline for Strange, "what do you mean it's been five years? What's going on? Where is everyone else."

Strange sighed and soon I was on the receiving end of yet another "Adult is exasperated with Peter" look. I watched as he placed his left two fingers up and began to draw a circle with his right hand. Suddenly, a bunch of sparks appeared in the air, forming a circle, which acted as a window into a large room. A short asian man stopped and stared at the portal in shock. "Strange? What the hell-"

"Wong, we don't have time. I need you to get the rest of the Masters and head to the Avengers Compound. We have one last fight," Strange ordered. The man - Wong - nodded and turned to the other people behind him, who'd clearly overheard the message. "Get everyone you know, all the heroes. Round them up." He paused before adding, "Five years is a long time to go without seeing a friendly face." The portal quickly disappeared, but not before catching Wong's smile.

The green and red guy shook his head, "What do you mean it's been five years?" He turned to the human looking guy, "Quill? I am confused."

"Not the only one, Drax," Quill said. He turned to the antannae girl, "Mantis? What do you feel?"

The woman closed her eyes, and her antennae glowed white. I stood there, not sure what I was supposed to do. _I just really wanna find Mr. Stark._

"I feel ... a great deal of shock. And happiness. Balance," she whispered, her voice shaking with emotion. "Something good has happened," she added with a grin.

"Alright, gather around. We need a plan," Strange said, and I immediately felt a tug in my stomach. Something wasn't completely right. "Something's happening," I muttered, hand scrunching up my hair. "We need to find the others."

"They're on Earth" Strange said, "but they aren't alone. Thanos and his army are there," he explained.

"How do you-," Drax began, but Strange cut him off.

"I told you. I viewed all the outcomes I could, and there was one, one where we win," Strange replied slowly.

"That's why you gave away the stone," I said, the events of the battle quickly coming back to me. "So ... it's really been five years since we fought Thanos?" I asked, hesitantly. As much as all this superheroing stuff was great, I'd never come across this scenario in all the simulations Mr. Stark and Rhodey had dreamt up for me to complete. Strange nodded in response and my stomach dropped. "Mr. Stark is gonna kill me," I groaned, and Strange merely avoided my eye, as he turned back to the group.

Quill spoke quickly, "If wizard-guy here is right, then we need to get back to Earth as fast as we can."

"The ship's are destroyed," Drax said, pointing at the mass of crumbling metal. _It must have been five years because there is no way that the ship was that damaged when we landed,_ I thought.

I turned to Strange, "know how to apparate?" I asked, nervously.

The man rolled his eyes, and ignored me. _God, that is so like Mr. Stark._ "I'm likely wrong, but is there anyone else around here besides us?" he asked. I quickly shot a web at the tallest part of the decaying ship and swung myself onto it, peering down below. "No, it's just us!"

Strange nodded, and I watched as he placed his left two fingers up and began to draw a circle with his right hand, creating another sparkly, golden portal. Strange went first, floating through, his cape billowing out behind him. I watched as the others went ahead, before shooting another web and swinging through it.

 _Fuck._

As I swung through, my stomach dropped slightly. This mass of fire, ash flying in the air, the dark purple and blue skies - this was Earth? I stuck a landing on a large piece of concrete, the nanites pulling back from my face. In front of us, just over a large empty field stood Thanos, and behind him were hoards of aliens, and large spaceships. _This is New York all over again,_ I thought, looking at the large whale-like ships moving across the sky. I scanned the area around me, and watched as more and more people poured out of portals. Several hundred wizard people came barging through a couple on my right, and I could hear the chants of the Wakandan army. I watched as another portal opened, and a woman riding a pure white pegasus appeared. _This is so fucking cool!_ Just then, there was a loud bang on my left, and the ruins of the collapsed compound began to shift. I backed away slightly and watched as a large man emerged. "Ant-guy!" I yelled, earning myself confused looks from the few people around me. Ant-guy opened his fist and dropped the Hulk, Rhodey and what looked like a racoon wielding a gun on the ground. I heard a loud whoosh and watched in awe as a silver version of Tony's suit dropped in front of me. The figure stood and turned to the face me, the faceplate revealing Pepper Potts. I smiled at her, before continuing my scan of the grounds and off to the left of Captain America, I spotted Tony's signature red and gold Bleeding Edge armour. I quickly shot a web, attempting to make my way towards him over the large army. I dropped to Cap's right, waiting for orders as the people behind build ranks.

I waited for orders with bated breath, as my mask reappeared over my face. "Hello Peter," a female voice said in my ear. "God, Karen. You have no idea how much I missed you," I replied, feeling relieved as the knots in my stomach released slightly. They returned a mili-second later when I saw the outriders charging towards us.

"AVENGERS!" Cap cried from my left, his face blackened with soot. I watched as Thor's hammer quickly flew back towards the group, and into his palm. "Assemble."

Thor let out a war cry - quickly drowned out by the cries of the other armies - as he led the charge. I swing upward, attaching a web to Pepper's suit and swinging forward, propelling myself with those flying above me as I made my way towards the fore, where Tony was flying, and leapt over him, shooting a web and pulling viciously on one of the larger beasts heading towards him.

"Holy shit, Karen are you seeing this?" I yelled, kicking and punching some of the outriders as I swung by. "This is like Lord of the Rings, Two Towers, when they fight in Helm's Deep? Oh god, imagine the score Zimmer could make for this. It would be called "Portals." What do you think?" I asked, spewing more and more word-vomit.

"I agree Peter, it would be wonderful," Karen replied politely. "Should I hook up your comms to everyone else?"

"Yes please," Peter replied, realizing he'd forgotten to ask. Mr. Stark usually took care of that anytime they were working together. He learned that their systems would automatically link up whenever they were both suited up, and Peter could overhear all the chatter going through Tony's HUD.

As he battled, he spotted Pepper and Mr. Stark fighting back to back, shooting repulsor blasts. "That is so badass," I murmured, catching an outrider's fist and judeo flipping him before webbing him to the ground. Pepper flew off towards the left, where the girl with the unicorn was flying around, cutting into the larger space-whales with armours, and watching them fall. My spidey sense tingled, and I turned back to where Tony was, and watched as he fought off several outriders with his lasers and repulser beams. The armour was holding up quite nicely, better than it did on Titan anyway, which I found surprising. It must have gone through some advancements, but Tony wouldn't have - oh year it'd been five years.

I fought my way towards Mr. Stark, who was quickly becoming overrun by Cull Obsidian, the same creature we had fought in the garden in New York. Obsidian knocked Tony off balance and into the rubble behind him, leaving him disoriented. The nanites on Tony's suit began to morph into large guns, as Obsidian advanced. With a thwip, I managed to catch his hands and pull them back, tugging enough for him to fall backwards, and get trampled on by the ant guy. _Sorry, not sorry dude. That's what you get for being a dick._

I ran over to where Mr. Stark was lying, breathing heavily. _Please be okay, please be okay_ , I thought as he raised his arm. I grasped it and pulled him up, my mask retracting around my face, barely containing my excitement. I hadn't seen him and I really just wanted to know that he was okay, and I wanted him to know I was okay. "Hey- oh, holy cow, you will not believe what's been going on," I began, before launching into my story, before stopping. "What's all that in your hair?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Tony, who'd been staring at Peter with a mixture of shock, relief and pure love was quickly shaken out of his reverie. "Oh, its just gray hair," he said, trying to sound as dismissive as possible, but failing. God, he'd missed him.

"Oh, that's okay. Happens to everybody," I replied, grinning, as I went back to my story. "Do you remember when we were in space? And I got all dusty?" I continued, as Tony watched, his eyes filling with tears as he attempted not to burst. "And, I must've passed out 'cause I woke up and you were gone. But Doctor Strange was there -"

Tony watched as Peter continued to speak, _he never used to shut up._

 _" -_ and he was like 'c'mon it's been five years, they need us' and he started doin' that yellow sparkly thing that he does on his own -" I explained, mimicking Strange like me and Tony did as they killed time on the spaceship. I noticed Mr. Stark moving closer, and a second later, I found myself wrapped in the older man's arms, in what could only be described as a hug. "What are you doing?" I asked, quickly hugging him back. I felt the man sigh, and relax the tension gone. He pulled me tighter and placed a small kiss on the side of my head.

"Huh, this is nice," I replied, patting Mr. Stark on the back and closing my eyes, forgetting the sounds of the battle raging around us. I was home. "How'd you -" but Mr. Stark cut me off quickly.

"Bruce. We made a new gauntlet. He had to do it - exposure to radiation and all that - he can heal the best. He snapped you all back into existence," Tony said quickly, catching the kid up to speed on how he pulled a Jesus Christ.

"So, what've I missed in five years?" I asked, my arms still wrapped tightly around Mr. Stark - who, strangely enough, hadn't forced me to let go like he used to.

"Not much Pete, I got married to Pep, I have a daughter - Morgan," Tony replied, sounding quite pleased and relieved that Peter seemed calm at the moment. Everytime he'd passed a milestone in his life, he imagined what it would be like to share it with Peter. When he was married, the kid would have been standing behind him and Rhodey. When he had Morgan, the kid would have been one of the first to hold her. "She reminds me of you," he added in a voice barely above a whisper, knowing Peter would hear it.

"The quiet life - it makes you happy," Peter whispered back. Suddenly, a loud bang to their left alerted them to the incoming squad of outriders. "On it, Mr Stark," I replied, swinging off, as my mask reappeared over my face.

Tony watched the kid swing away and back into the battle, his mask re-materializing over his shocked face. "Peter! I just got you back," Tony cried.

I heard him, the pain in his voice, but I kept swinging forward, knowing that if I let Mr. Stark hug me one more time, I wouldn't want to leave his arms. I'd cry and ask to go home.

* * *

"We need some help," someone said over the radio. "T-Challa has the gauntlet." I quickly glanced around and spotted a man in a Panther suit being pulled upwards by the weird Voldemort looking motherfucker from the space donut. His clawed gloves were wrapped firmly around a gauntlet that looked like a large version of an Iron man one, except it contained six shining gems. I recognized it instantly as being a new version of the one Thanos was wearing when he attacked us on Titan. I swung over as quickly as I could, "I GOT IT!" I yelled over the comms and shot a web at the glove, the panther man swinging it up to me. I pulled it into my arms and quickly landed atop one of the larger creatures. Several of the outriders ran towards me and in a moment I said the three words I swore I never would. "Activate Instant Kill," I said, and the suit's eyes quickly narrowed into red circles and the mechanized spider legs sprouted from the housing unit on my back, skewering the nearest creatures. I held the glove tightly in my hand, as I quickly became overrun by Thanos' minions.

"I got this, I got this," I repeated over and over, reminding myself of how I'd made it out when Toomes had dropped the building on me. But more and more of the outriders appeared, swarming, making it harder to breathe and move. One of them began to tug at the gauntlet and I yelled over the comms. "Help, somebody help!"

"Hey Queens," Cap said. "Head's up!" he threw the hammer, and I heard it whiz by. I shot a web and felt myself being pulled out of the clusterfuck of aliens and into the air, able to breathe again. I tried to move over to the handle, but one of the lasers cut the web, and I began freefalling through the air. I felt another tug on my still-outstretched arm and looked up at Pepper. "I got you, kid. Hang on!" she tossed me into the air and towards the dark-haired woman on the pegasus. The glove slipped from my hand but was quickly caught by two of the arms on the back of the suit. I managed to stick a haphazard landing, perching myself on the back of the horse. The dark haired woman turned and gave me a smile. "Hi, I'm Peter, nice to meet you - OH MY GOD!" I yelled, as the animal swooped down without any warning.

She steered the pegasus to the side but the lasers must have had a targeting system because I found myself hurtling through the air once more, furiously grasping for the glove which had slipped out of the suit's arms. I wrapped my arms around it, as my body was slammed back down onto the ground. I began running but another laser shot the ground near me, the blast throwing me back and into a large piece of concrete. The glove, which had slipped from my grasp once more, lay by my head, which was ringing from the noise. The lasers shot faster and faster, the ground quaking beneath me. _Shit, this is how I'm gonna die. I don't wanna die. I don't wanna go. Not again. Not back to the dark._ I thought, my eyes shut and arms wrapped around me.

Suddenly, the ground stopped shaking. I opened my eyes slightly, and watched as they redirected themselves, firing at something in the sky.

"FRIDAY, what are they firin' at?" I heard Mr. Stark ask.

"Something just entered the upper atmosphere," FRIDAY replied, some urgency in her voice.

 _Fuck me, there's another one?_ I thought savagely, grabbing the gauntlet and backing myself up against the concrete. I felt blood pouring out of my nose and the side of my head felt cold - I was definitely bleeding there, too. I watched with mild horror as a ball of energy flew towards Thanos' large ship, taking all of the laser's hits without any sign of stopping. _Please be on our side, please be on our side_ , I murmured.

The comet-energy thing flew through the ship once, before turning sharply and doing so again, causing the lasers to disengage and the ship to blow up. The figure stopped, floating above the ship, which fell to the ground, continuing to burn. I could make out a figure, which looked human, at the centre of the light.

"That's some Big Dick Energy," I heard a woman with a thick Wakandan accent say through the comms, and I couldn't agree more.

"Danvers, we need an assist here," Cap said, and soon, the ball of energy dropped in front of me, the glow around it fading slightly until I could make out the form of a young woman with short blonde hair staring down at me.

"Hi, I'm ... Peter Parker," I said, trying to sound super non-chalant even though I was both scared shitless and impressed by the woman in front of me.

"Hey Peter Parker, you got somethin' for me?" she replied with a small smile.

I stood shakily, as I watched Thanos' army begin to run towards us, and I willingly passed her the glove. "I don't know how you're gonna get through all that," I said, sounding positively disheartened and tired.

"Don't worry," said a voice. Peter turned and watched as the Scarlet Witch descended on the woman's right. "She's got help," a Wakandan woman with a shaved head and spear added. The woman on the pegasus landed behind them, while Pepper landed infront of Peter. Another Wakandan girl with braids - around my age - reloaded her arms, which were encased in huge mechanized gauntlets. Behind her was the antenna lady, a blue lady who looked part-robot, and a green lady with two long knives. Suddenly, as if appearing from nowhere, came another woman with a ponytail. I collapsed onto the concrete behind me, and watched as they calmly walked towards Thanos' army, and began to fight.

The woman, _Danvers, Mr Rogers had called her,_ began to run before bursting into energy and flying through Thanos' army, cutting through everything in her way. I quickly stood up, shook my head, and used my last burst of energy to join them. I reactivated instant kill, and began to fight alongside Pepper, who led the way as we helped clear the path for Danvers. I watched as she, the Wakandan girl with the wrist gauntlets and the lady with the wasp-looking wings fired at Thanos, keeping him occupied while Danvers flew towards the trunk of the ugly brown van where the portal was.

Thanos, however, recovered quickly enough to watch Danvers fly past. He threw his large spear-sword thing and it hit the portal, the blast forcing Danvers back, the gauntlet flying out of her hands, and landing in the middle of the battle. I swung my way over quickly as I could, and spotted Mr. Stark running towards Thanos, who had his eyes on the glove. Mr Stark threw himself at the titan, knocking him off course, but he recovered quickly, grabbing Tony and flinging him into the debris. Just then Thor and Steve appeared, one with a hammer and the other with an axe. The pair managed to hold Thanos for a moment, but he was able to toss them aside too. He turned and punched Mr. Rogers in the face. _Get the gauntlet,_ a voice inside my head whispered.

I shot a web and pulled the gauntlet towards me, while the Titan's back was turned. Moving back, the glove tucked tightly in my arms, I stared out over the battlefield. Chaos erupted around me.

"Kid- Pete, give me the glove," Mr. Stark said, suddenly appearing in front of me. Thanos began to charge, but the nanites on Tony's back formed a huge repulser, which shot a steady beam at the man. It was then joined by Rhodey and Pepper's repulsors, the Scarlet Witch's energy beams, the wasp lady's repulsor, and captain america and thor's lightening blasts. "C'mon Pete, we don't have anymore time. This needs to end now. Give it to me!" he ordered, his eyes wide in fear. The only time I'd seen that look on his face was when we were on Titan, and I was being dusted.

 **FLASHBACK**

 _Peter was sitting at the table in the tower, working on some Cal, his hand sitting in the now-empty bowl of fruit Mr. Stark often left out for him. He hadn't seen Mr. Stark in a couple days - he and Rhodey were in Washington, trying to get pardons for the Rogue Avengers as well as working on amending the more problematic aspects of the Sokovia Accords. "Hey Peter, how are you?" she asked, shaking me out of my review._

 _"Oh, I'm good. Just working. Yourself?" I asked._

 _"Not bad," she replied, grabbing some leftover lasagna and heating it up for herself. I opened my mouth, about to ask her to do the same for me when she said: "Don't worry kid, I'll heat yours up too," she said, without turning around._

 _"Man, Mr. Stark is so lucky," I said, making her laugh. Pepper turned and leant on the table, the light from the windows catching her engagement ring. "How's the wedding planning going?" I probed. I was trying to help Pepper as best as I could, figuring it would be a good way for the two of us to get to know each other more - plus I was photographing the wedding. Pepper had noticed many of my photos and had bought me a new camera to help me really work on my skills. Art was the first common ground she and I had discovered we shared._

 _"It's going pretty well," Pepper began, trailing off._

 _"My spidey senses tell me there's a but coming along."_

 _Pepper nodded, "It's just - I never thought we'd make it to the altar. Tony and I. We've been through so much and I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop," she sighed._

 _Sensing the seriousness of the conversation at hand, I closed my calc book - subtly letting Pepper know she had my undivided attention. "What do you mean?"_

 _"Peter, God, you're so young and you're out there every night. You know how risky this life is. And Tony. Every time he leaves, I -I'm afraid that he won't come back," she admitted, tears rolling down her cheeks. I quickly made my way to her, tissues in hand. She took them gratefully, wiping her face as I rubbed circles on her back. "When he started out - I told him. I told him "Tony you're going to get yourself killed." And that I didn't want to be part of it. And now I am. And I know, i_ _f it were between Tony and the world, he'd give himself up - no question," she sobbed._

 _"I know how you feel too," I whispered back, giving her a hug. "I worry about him, too. I also understand why he's doing it - because someone has to be strong enough to do it. But you can't let that stop you from letting yourself be happy," I paused, hoping I wasn't overstepping boundaries. "He loves you the most, Pepper. If you asked, he'd stop suiting up, but he'd fee guilty about it. And you understand how important this is to him. And he trusts you not to give him an ultimatum like that. And you gotta trust that he will come back. He will always come back to you. I'll make sure of it" I promised._

 _Pepper gave me a watery smile, and we were both shocked out of our conversation by the loud beeps of the oven._

"No!" I yelled back at Mr. Stark, who's outstretched arm fell to his side. "I'm not letting you do this. I promised."

"Kid, stop being an idiot and give me the fucking glove," Mr. Stark replied angrily.

"I can't let you do this. You have a wife, a kid, a life. I'm not letting you throw that away" I said, turning the glove towards myself. It began to shrink till it was about the side of my hand. I needed to be the one who ended this.

Mr. Stark looked horrified, as he started at me. "For fuck's sake Peter! I just got you back. I'm not letting you die." Tony looked off to Peter's left, and a second later, he fell on his knees, begging in front of Peter. "I'm not letting my kid die again!" he cried, tears on his face, his eyes still on the left of Peter. "Not again. I can't do it again."

"I'm not asking you to let me die, I'm asking you to let yourself live," I said. "It's my choice, and I will always choose my family." I slid the glove onto my hand, and heard Thanos roar. I felt the power of the Infinity Stones surging through my body, every fibre of my being was on fire - was filled with power. My eyes were screwed up, the energy bursts around me becoming more and more blinding to my heightened senses. I tried to speak, my mouth moving but unsure if the words were coming out or not. I closed my eyes and the voice in my head (which sounded a lot like Mr. Stark) spoke: _Okay Peter, focus. We're dusting Thanos and his army. All the bad guys, kid. Get rid of_ them.

I snapped my fingers, and felt a surge of power flow out of my hand and into the universe.

* * *

 **TONY'S POV**

Fuck, that purple bastard was strong. I heaved myself up, my entire body aching from the numerous body slams I had dealt with. It had been a long day. I spotted Cap and Thor trying to sedate Thanos, but failing as Peter shot a web and pulled the gauntlet towards himself - fuck this day was about to get longer. _Get the gauntlet - end this_ , I thought, making my way towards Peter, while the Titan's back was turned.

"Kid- Pete, give me the glove," I said. Behind, I heard Thanos charge, and felt the ground shake with each of his steps, but FRIDAY was already on it, the nanites on my back morphing into a huge repulser, which shot a steady beam at the Titan. It was then joined by Rhodey and Pepper's repulsors, Wanda's energy beams, the Wasp's repulsor, and Cap and Thor's lightening blasts. I turned back to the kid, getting frustrated with his stubbornness. "C'mon Pete, we don't have anymore time. This needs to end now. Give it to me!" I ordered, trying to channel the same energy I had all those years ago during the Ferry incident. Inside, I was being ripped apart, fear clawing at my already frail heart. The kid had to listen to me. He has to. Kids - they listen to their parents, and Peter always listened to me. He had no reason not to.

"No!" Peter yelled back, looking at me dead the eyes.

 _The fuck?_ My outstretched arm fell to my side. "Kid, stop being an idiot and give me the fucking glove," I replied, growing furious. The others could only hold off the dickhead for so long, and we needed a win. _This was the win - at least, I think it is. Only one person would know._ I began searching for Strange around us and spotted the man and his red cape flailing about just behind Peter. He was fighting a couple of outriders, and I knew if I moved away, Peter would put the gauntlet on.

"I can't let you do this. You have a wife, a kid, a life. I'm not letting you throw that away" Peter said, turning the glove towards myself. It began to shrink till it was about the side of my hand. I needed to be the one who ended this.

 _That's not why I told you that, dipshit!_ I thought savagely, the kid rendering me speechless for a moment. "For fuck's sake Peter! I just got you back. I'm not letting you die!" I yelled back. This caught Strange's attention and he turned to me, our eyes meeting over Peter's left shoulder. The man give me a look, and silently, he raised a finger. _One._ _Oh. Oh god no! No, no, no, no, no. This isn't a victory. This isn't a win,_ I thought. _God, why can't I be happy? Just once in my life, let me hold my family in my arms and breathe. And rest. God, I can't lose my kid. Not again._ I fell to my knees, hands folded, begging Peter - my kid - not to do this. "I'm not letting my kid die again!" I cried, tears falling freely from my face. "Not again. I can't do it again," I wept.

"I'm not asking you to let me die, I'm asking you to let yourself live," Peter said. "It's my choice, and I will always choose my family" and with that, Peter slid the glove on his hand, and behind me I heard Thanos roar in anger. The enegry from the stones swarmed around Peter's body, crackling much like lightening did around Thor. The nanites were slowly frying, peeling away from his body, unable to move fluidly. Peter's eyes were screwed up in what I could only assume was pain as the energy bursts became more and more blinding. "I'M SORRY!" Peter yelled, before snapping his fingers, releasing a wave of energy from himself and into the universe.

I was thrown back and my head hit the ground behind me. "Concussion detected," FRIDAY said, but I ignored her, crawling towards where Peter lay. I wailed, releasing the grief I had bottled up for five years upon the Earth, letting it roll off of me like the energy from the glove. The battlefield had grown silent, the fighting futile as Thanos and his army began to disintegrate. Slowly, everyone had began to gravitate towards us. "No, no, no, no, Peter!" I said between sobs. I pulled the kid into my lap, cradling him just as I did all those years ago on Titan, except this was much worse. On Titan, Peter was responsive, able to speak before he vanished completely. The newly-revived Peter laying in my lap, however, had brown eyes that moved slowly, staring up at me. The entire right side of his upper body and face were burned up, bleeding, as some of the nanites had become embedded in his skin. "Stay with me kid, you stay with me, alright? We won, kid. We won, Peter. You did it, you did it. You saved us," I said, my heart aching. "You have to see May again. She misses you. God- she really misses you. You have - you have to meet Morgan too, okay? She needs you," my voice cracked, "she needs her brother. And - and Happy, He'd like to see you, too. You need to meet the Avengers, Pete. You're gonna love them." I stopped, attempting to pull myself together despite my body shaking as I cried. "Don't go Pete. I need you. Please, don't go. You're not allowed to leave me, okay? Not again! Promise me? Look at me Peter," I whispered, my tears falling onto Peter's face.

The kid's eyes, which had been staring off to the side, locked onto mine. His mouth opened slightly and he muttered something. "T'ny."

"Yeah, that's my name kid," I said, smiling through my tears. "Karen? Vitals?" I said, hand resting on the Iron Spider emblem on Peter's chest.

"C-t-al. V-ita-ls -ail-ng" came the AI's garbled response. _Critical, Vitals Failing._

"T'ny?" Peter whispered again.

"Yeah kid?" I replied.

"N' s'ry" he whispered.

I sniffed, "Of course you're not sorry. You did nothing wrong. God, Peter, you did everything right. You were the best one, the best of all of us," I said, crying furiously at this point. Pepper and Rhodey sat next to me, both resting a hand on my back and the other on Peter.

"Thank you," Pepper said. "You wonderful child." _Thank you, thank you for keeping him safe,_ she thought, thinking of Tony - who was still breathing - beside her.

"You - you deserved better than what you got," Rhodey whispered. "Goddamnit kid, you were too good for this world."

I placed a small kiss on the boy's forehead. "I love you three thousand," I murmured, staring in Peter's brown eyes, devoid of their usual love, kindness and curiosity.

"Stark," came Strange's voice from somewhere behind him. "This was the only way," he said solemnly, staring at Peter's lifeless body.

My blood began to boil. "Was it? Was it?" I asked angrily. I turned and looked up to face Strange, who was trying his hardest to look me in the eyes. "This was the only way? This was a win? I lost Peter!" I screamed at the man, causing him to look down, ashamed. I stood up, letting Pepper hold Peter for me. "I lost my son! Again! How is that a win? How is it that the entire fate of the universe was placed on the back of a child? MY KID!" I yelled, causing the others to back up as well, their eyes downcast. I felt Rhodey place a hand on my shoulder, pulling me into him. "I just got him back," I sobbed.

"I know Tony, I know," Rhodey replied, rubbing my back, a tear falling down his face.

"It should have been me," I said. "Parents... parents shouldn't bury their kids," I whispered, as Rhodey held me tighter.

"I don't think you'll have to," Strange said quietly.

"What the fuck?" Quill said, staring past me and at the ground.

I immediately whirled around and spotted Pepper, who'd stood up, leaving Peter on the ground. "What's going on?" I said.

"His hand, Tony. His hand," Pepper whispered, her eyes growing wide.

I looked down and spotted the gauntlet in Peter's hand. Which was ... moving? The kid's hand was moving. Wait, no the kid was moving. He's moving. He's - he's standing up. And moving. And breathing. Peter drew himself up to his full height and looked straight at me, his shimmering brown eyes meeting my shocked ones. "Peter?"

The kid looked confused for a second, his face contorting in pain before relaxing again. "Mr. Stark? Miss Potts? Rhodey? What happened?" Peter asked. I ignored him, rushing forward and enveloping the kid in a tight hug, which Peter reciprocated. _He's back, thank God, he's back. You're never leaving me again, Peter. Never again._ I squeezed the kid tighter, like I was trying to push him into the hole in my heart, where he belonged.

Everyone else behind me stood still, shocked at Peter's apparent rebirth (for the second time). Peter shook his head and rubbed his gauntlet clad-finger along his temple, "this is gonna be a different kinda hangover, huh?" he whispered into my ear, and for the first time in five years, my heart was full and I could breathe again.

* * *

 **This is from a Third Person POV**

Naturally, a win of this kind deserved a celebration of sorts, and with the Avenger's Compound being, y'know destroyed by a major alien invasion, the Tower was the next best bet to house everyone. Tony hadn't set foot in the building in almost five years, and was quite surprised to see it was still being maintained. He kept one hand on Peter and the other on Pepper as Strange, Wong and the other sorcerers created a large enough portal to send them through. "It hasn't changed," Tony whispered, looking around at the large labs, completely empty.

"I couldn't bring myself to change it," Pepper admitted. "I remember how torn up you were all those years ago, when you wanted to tear it down. You couldn't do it either," she added, turning to Tony.

"Where's -" Tony began but Pepper nodded and spoke quickly, "Happy's with her. He'll be bringing her around in a couple hours."

"She's okay?" Tony asked, concerned for Morgan, feeling a little guilty for forgetting about her in his worry for Peter.

Pepper nodded, "yeah. She knew you were working with your friends on a big problem. I just told her you needed my help for the last part."

Tony kissed her in thanks, before turning to Peter, who was wringing his hands nervously and scanning the room as if he were on high alert. Tony - along with some of the others - noticed the kid was still wearing the gauntlet, which seemed to have powered down, the stones glowing ever so slightly.

"You okay, Pete? You're still wearing the glove," Tony asked. Peter nodded silently, clearly not listening, continuing to look around, and suddenly Tony understood. "May?" he asked, and the kid quickly turned to face him, nodding.

"Yeah," he said breathlessly. "I'm sorry, I just need to know if she's okay."

Tony considered his next words carefully. "It was hard for her, those five years."

Peter, who'd been fidgeting non-stop since his revival, stilled. "Oh god," he whispered looking positively horrified. "I left her alone for _five_ years? Fuck. She's gonna kill me."

Tony wrapped an arm around Peter's shoulder, pulling him closer to him. "We're about to find out," he said with a small laugh as the elevator doors slid open, revealing May, who's eyes widened the moment she spotted Peter.

"Peter!" she cried, running towards him. Tony felt his arm fall to his side as Peter ran to his Aunt, the pair crashing into a hug, both weeping inconsolably. "Oh, my baby. You're okay, you're okay now," May cried, her hand resting in Peter's hair as she rubbed his back.

"May - I'm so so sorry," Peter sobbed. "I shouldn't've gone. I didn't mean to leave. I didn't wanna go."

"I know sweetie, I know," May said, patting him on the back. "But you're safe now," she said, resting her chin on his shoulder, her eyes meeting Tony's. "Thank you" she mouthed to him, and Tony nodded, smiling. May let go of Peter, her hands resting on his shoulders, "you're not leaving the house till you're fifty, okay?"

Peter laughed, "that sounds pretty good, actually."

"For once, I agree," Tony replied with a nod, ignoring the worry in his heart as he teared his eyes away from Peter. "So, everyone!" Tony said, turning to the room, which was brimming with people. "Find a room, have a shower, and get ready because we have a lot to celebrate."

* * *

Peter went to the room he usually used when he stayed at the tower, surprised to see that in spite of his name being left on the door, the room was devoid of all of his things. Pepper, who was heading to the room she and Tony would use stopped, resting a hand on Peter's shoulder. "We didn't throw out your stuff, if that's what you're thinking," she said with a small smile. Peter nodded, thinking they probably gave everything to May for keeps. "We moved your room into our house," Pepper continued.

Peter turned to her, surprised. "Really?" he asked.

Pepper nodded, walking Peter into the room and sitting down on the bed with him. "It was hard in the beginning, for everyone. But Tony - he was up all hours of the night, unable to sleep. He would come in here and work," Pepper said looking around the room, remembering how completely destroyed the man was when he'd finally returned from Titan. "He worked so hard, trying to figure out how to get you back, but when we had Morgan, he was finally able to let go bit by bit, but never completely. He never forgot you. When we decided to move to the cabin, he wanted to make you a room, just in case."

Peter nodded, biting his lip in an effort not to cry. "I didn't know it hurt him that bad," Peter whispered.

"You were his kid, Peter. He just didn't know it," Pepper replied softly, giving him a hug. "And now you're back," she said standing up and heading out of the room. "I'll drop off some clothes for you," she said, just like she would when Peter would stay at the tower or compound all those years ago.

He nodded gratefully, "thank you Pepper, for everything."

"Thank you for keeping him safe," Pepper replied with a small smile as she shut the door.

Peter stood up and tapped the spider emblem on his iron spider suit, the nanites retracting into the housing unit and leaving him in his usual suit. He took off that suit as best he could, the iron gauntlet still on his hand. He pried at it gently, and found the gauntlet slipping off his arm with ease. He gently placed it on the bed, before heading into the washroom, smirking: _I haven't showered in five years._

* * *

He changed into the clothes Pepper had left on his bed - a pair of sweatpants and Tony's old Black Sabbath shirt - the one he'd often steal while staying with the pair. Peter was about to leave the room when something caught his eye. The gauntlet sat on the bed, and Peter could almost swear that he felt it looking at him. Apprehensively, he crossed his room and picked up the gauntlet inspecting it, when suddenly, the nanites began to spread, attaching it to his arm once more. He started to tug at the gauntlet but it refused to move. _Okay, that's weird_ , he thought, heading back out to the common room, where everyone was currently milling about. He managed to find Tony and Thor, the pair smiling as they reminisced on the last time they had hosted a party like this.

"at least we won't be interrupted by any murderous robots," Thor said with a small smile, looking at Tony, who rolled his eyes.

"That was one time, Point Break, let it go," he replied defensively, as Peter walked towards him. "Doing okay kid?" he asked, his eyes suddenly growing soft.

"Yeah, I think so," he said with a small smile. "I, uh, thought I should give this back," Peter said, holding his arm out towards Tony.

"Oh, so now you wanna give it to me," Tony smiled, ruffling Peter's hair as he stared the gauntlet. "Did you shower with the gauntlet on kid?" Tony asked after a moment, trying not to laugh.

Peter rolled his eyes. "No, I took it off, and I picked it up off my bed to give to you, but the nanites just reformed over my arm." He lowered his voice slightly, "I think it's sentient," he whispered. "I could feel it _looking_ at me."

Tony's face morphed into one of curiosity and he began to look at the gauntlet some more, before noticing it didn't look damaged like Thanos' gauntlet had when he used the stones. "Kid, let me see your arm," he said. Peter showed him his right arm, which looked perfectly fine if you ignored the fact that his forearm was still encased in the gauntlet. "Bruce, come here!" Tony yelled, and Peter watched in surprise as the Hulk marched through the crowd (which parted easily for him) and joined Peter, Tony, and Thor.

"Oh my god, it's Bruce Banner and the Hulk. This is the best day ever," Peter said quickly, his eyes lighting up as he reached forward to shake Bruce's hand. "Can I just say that this is an absolute honour? Like, you're THE Bruce Banner! I read all of your papers, and I have to say, you're a genius!" Peter gushed, causing Bruce to blush.

"Thank you Mr. Parker," Bruce replied, smiling and turning to Tony. "You weren't lying."

"I told you the kid was a fan," Tony replied, with a smile.

"You told him about me?" Peter squeaked, turning to Tony as well, who nodded.

"Yeah, I had to tell him about that time you god drunk and tried to synthesize a new compound that would create new tissue and ended up quarantining the both of us in the lab for two days," Tony replied with a glint in his eyes.

"Oh my god, I'm so embarrassing," Peter whispered, growing red.

Tony laughed, clapping Peter on the back. "Now, Bruce, how're you healing?" Tony asked, peering at the man, who's right side was still heavily scarred from his use of the gauntlet.

"Eh, I'm healing, but it's taking a while," he explained, looking at his arm. "Usually I don't get injured, but when I do, I heal relatively quickly."

Peter shook his head, "I don't understand. I used the glove and it healed me."

"It tore you apart first, young spider," Thor replied, and Tony tensed, not wanting to remember another traumatizing point of his life.

"Isn't there anyone here that could, y'know, heal you?" Peter asked, looking at all the people in the crowd.

Tony considered this. "I mean, Wakanda has the most advanced technology, so we could ask T'Challa. I'm sure he wouldn't mind helping us," Tony explained. "I'll talk to him later tonight."

Peter nodded thoughtfully, before turning back to Thor, "You look different from the last time I saw you. Granted, that was years ago, but still." Peter's ears picked up a strange whirring sound, and he zoned in on Thor's eyes, one of which was a different colour than the other. "What happened to your eye?"

Thor was surprised. He'd grown so used to the mechanized eye he'd taken from the rabbit. "I uh lost it when I was fighting my sister."

Peter nodded, "I guess you miss a lot in five years, huh."

"Oh, this happened before Thanos," Thor explained, offering Peter the stool next to him, which the kid took gratefully. "You see, after our fight here on Earth against Ultron, I went scouring the universe for the Infinity Stones, and in my search I found the nine realms in chaos..." Peter's eyes widened and soon everyone around them became entranced in Thor's story. May came to a stop by Peter, letting the kid rest his head on her shoulder as he listened. "... and then Hela cut out my eye, which while incredibly rude, was just what I needed to give me the clarity I'd been seeking since I lost Mjolnir. I managed to tap into my powers." Peter nodded, as if this were the most normal and relatable thing. "... And then, as we were heading towards Earth, we were brought to a stop by Thanos's ship," Thor grew slightly quiet, "he slaughtered all my people, including Loki in front of me."

Peter rested a hand on Thor's arm, "I''m sorry. I understand how that feels." Peter found his gauntlet-laden hand clench on the table top.

"The sun will shine on us again, brother," a voice said behind them. Suddenly there was a shimmer of gold and Loki appeared, followed by a slew of confused and scared Asgardians, further adding to the bodies in the room.

"Brother!" Thor cried, launching himself at Loki and hugging him fiercely. "How?" he asked, turning to look at all the people in the room. He spotted Heimdell a few feet away and tore towards the man, throwing an arm around him and bringing him towards the others, his eyes filled with tears of joy.

"For once, I'm just as clueless as you are," Loki smirked. "I just - appeared."

"This wasn't your magic?" Thor asked, sounding perplexed.

"Nope," Loki replied, turning to Peter. "But I have a shrewd idea as to what - or who - may be involved," he said, nodding to Peter, and eyeing the gauntlet with interest. Everyone turned to look at the glove, noticing the stones glowing more powerfully than before, similar to when Peter had snapped. "The youngling hasn't been driven to madness, I see," he said, taking a seat next to Peter, staring at the kid with mild interest.

"What do you mean?" Tony asked, looking between the two.

Loki turned to Tony and grinned. "Man of Iron, I thought you were the smartest of these mortals," he said teasingly. Tony ignored him and gestured for Loki to continue. "The stones are the remnants of an ancient and powerful being who split their powers up, each power encased in a stone. No being has ever had the strength and nobility to wield them multiple times without injury - until now, that is," he said, gesturing towards Peter. "They become part of the person, forming a sort of bond with them. The individual vows to protect the gems, and the gems protect the individual in return. The person can use them to do as they wish, as long as what they wish is percieved as good by the user, hence why the child was able to bring myself and the rest of these Asgardians back."

"The kid can wish people back from the dead? Huh," Tony said, trying to not sound shocked. "I need a drink," he said, sighing, rubbing a forefinger to his temple.

"Wait," Thor said, turning to Peter. "You brought Loki back? How?"

"I- I don't know," Peter replied honestly, his face growing red from all the attention. "I was listening to your story and you said Loki died, I remember thinking I'd like to meet him." He turned to Loki, "do you think you can get this off of me?" he asked. "You seem to know a lot about it."

Loki considered this for a moment, reflecting on his time using the mind stone on Earth. "You need to use your head, your consciousness and use that to convince the glove to come off. You have to believe with all your being that you want it off. Using these stones, it's a mental process, and those who aren't fit to wield them find it mentally taxing." Loki paused, "I know I did," he added, thinking of New York all those years ago.

Thor placed a hand on Loki's shoulder. "It is of no consequence, Brother. You have made up for your mistakes."

Loki smiled, "thank you."

Peter nodded, considering Loki's words before closing his eyes. _Okay, I want this glove off. I want it off. Please come off._ He opened his eyes and gently tugged at the glove, which moved off his hand easily. Peter sighed, smiling as he set the glove on the bar, where it was promptly picked up and locked away by Tony.

"How do you feel?" Carol asked, staring at Peter with mild concern.

"A lot better," Peter replied honestly. "It feels like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders."

* * *

Peter soon found himself sitting on the large sofa in the common room, surrounded by the ladies of the galaxy, all of whom were asking Peter about his powers. "I can't believe I'm meeting Spiderman," Shuri said, "this is the best day ever."

"Are you kidding me?" Peter exclaimed, "You reloaded your arms like Henry Cavill in Mission Impossible," he mimed the action. "That's some BDE if I've ever seen it."

Some of the older women exchanged looks. "What's BDE?" Mantis asked, sounding intrigued.

"It stands for 'Big Dick Energy'" Shuri explained, while Peter nodded.

"It's being confident without being cocky," Peter added, "Like Ms. Captain Danvers. She has Big Dick Energy. Actually" he said, turning to all the women, "You all have it."

"It's just Carol, Peter," she said with a grin. "And what you did out there? That was Supernova Dick Energy."

Peter grew red and and mumbled a small, barely audible "thank you."

Okoye shook her head and leaned forward so she could see Peter. "No, young man. You single-handedly saved the entire universe. It's nothing to be shy of. It was an honour to fight in battle with you."

Peter nodded, "Uh- thanks. It's pretty awesome to be working with you guys as well. You guys should make your own team. Like the Avengers, but more badass."

"I HEARD THAT!" Tony yelled from somewhere in the crowd, much to everyone else laughter.

"So, how did you get your powers?" Shuri asked, turning to Peter, who was sitting next to her. "Did you create some sticky gloves and shoes or something?"

Peter shook his head, "No. I got bit by a spider and I got powers."

"I knew an A'skavaiiran who got bit by these things known as spiders, he just developed a bad infection," Gamora said tonelessly, from where she was sitting with Nebula.

Peter and Shuri exchanged a look before nodding. "Ah, yeah. Statistically, that's pretty normal, but I've never been known for being an average in these cases," he replied.

Suddenly, Tony appeared behind Peter, tapping the kid on the shoulder. "C'mon, there's someone here I want you to meet," he said, moving out of the way as Peter somersaulted over the sofa. The pair cut their way through the crowd until they were by the elevator, watching as the LED lit up, indicating that the elevator was moving towards them.

The large doors slid open and Peter watched as a young girl sprinted out, and into Tony's arms. "Daddy!" she cried, wrapping her arms around Tony's neck as he rubbed her back.

"Hey Morguuna! Were you behaving for Happy?" Tony asked, looking at the young girl with sparkling eyes.

She nodded emphatically. "Yeah I was!"

"She made a really big mess in the kitchen Tony, but that's not my problem," Happy grumbled. He spotted Peter watching the exchange between Tony and Morgan, and smiled, clapping the kid on the back. "Hey kid," he said, his hand resting on Peter's shoulder.

"Hi Happy. Didja miss me?" Peter asked, grinning at the man. He too had some grey in his hair and looked positively tired. Peter had always been sure that he'd be the one to wear Happy down, and realized that the man had spent five years looking after another, much younger kid who had Tony's stubborness.

Happy looked back at the kid, his eyes welling ever so slightly. "Yeah, a little" he said giving the kid a brief hug. He quickly wiped his eyes and nodded to Tony, before moving away - most likely to find Pepper.

Peter turned back to Tony and Morgan, who was looking at Peter curiously. Tony smiled, "Morgan, this is -"

"Daddy its Peter!" she yelled excitedly, her eyes widening like Tony's would whenever he was happy. She let go of Tony and reached out to Peter, who quickly took her. "My dad tells me stories about you all the time!"

"He does?" Peter asked, looking over Morgan's head at Tony, who rolled his eyes.

"Not all the time, she's just exaggerating," Tony replied, tickling Morgan's foot.

She laughed, and quickly turned back to Tony, "No I'm not!" She quickly looked back at Peter, "he said you're his favourite superhero."

"Really? Spiderman is his favourite superhero?" Peter asked, sounding surprised. He turned to look at Tony, but the man had already been dragged aside by Hank Pym.

"No, not Spiderman," Morgan replied, sounding annoyed. "Peter."

Peter's stomach dropped slightly as he looked at her. "Oh," he said, his eyes welling up with tears.

Morgan placed her hands on his cheeks and tilted her head, "Why're you crying? Are you sad?"

Peter shook his head, "No, I'm just happy to be back," he replied, sniffing slightly. "So," he said, making his way over to an unoccupied armchair and sitting Morgan on his lap. "What other stories did your dad tell you about me?"

Morgan tapped her chin thoughtfully. "He told me about that one time you thought someone was stealing your stuff, so you hid a camera in your room and forgot about it, and you called the police on yourself."

Peter grew slightly red, "Okay, so only the embarrassing stories then?" he asked, to which Morgan nodded, giggling. "Well, I think we should be fair, right?" he asked Morgan, who nodded, her eyes wide. "So you wanna hear embarrassing stories about your dad?"

Morgan nodded, and Peter launched into the story about the time Tony got his head stuck in a helmet when they were testing out the nanite armour.

* * *

Slowly, the party began to wind down, and Peter leaned back on the sofa, careful not to wake Morgan who'd fallen asleep laughing as Peter told her about the time Tony had forgotten to turn the oven off when he was baking cookies and ended up evacuating everyone from the Tower.

"She asleep?" Pepper asked, bending down to stroke Morgan's hair.

"Yeah," Peter replied, seeming someone tired - it had been a long day.

Pepper took Morgan, trying not to wake her up, but it was no use - she was a light sleeper like her father. "Mommy? Where's Peter?"

"I'm right here, Mo" Peter replied, giving a small wave.

Morgan rubbed her eyes, "Oh. Can my brother tuck me in?" she asked, and Peter felt another jolt in his stomach.

Peter looked up at Pepper and Tony, who'd just appeared, and asked "Can I?" The pair nodded, and Morgan quickly moved back into Peter's arms.

"Take her to our room," Pepper said, and Peter nodded, moving through the hallway and opening the door with his free hand. He pulled back the sheets, tucking Morgan in the middle of the bed, so she wouldn't fall out.

"Night Morgan," Peter said, planting a kiss on her forehead.

"Night Peter," she said with a smile, her eyes closing slowly. Peter made his way to the door, and if it wasn't for his super-hearing he would have missed her words: "I love you 3000."

"I love you 3000, too," Peter said, as he closed the door and headed back to the common room, where Pepper, Tony and some of the others were still milling about. "She loves me 3000," Peter said to the pair, who exchanged a look.

Pepper rolled her eyes, "I'm still in the 1000s and I birthed her."

Tony smirked, "Don't take it personally Pep. I'm sure you'll break into the 2000s by next year."

"If it makes you feel any better, I love you 3000," Peter said to Pepper as she stood up to head to bed.

She stopped and wrapped her arms around Peter, placing a kiss on the top of his head. "I love you too, Peter," she said, staring down at him with a smile, glad that he was back.

Tony watched as she headed off before turning to Peter. "Wow. She only loves you two," he said teasingly.

Peter rolled his eyes and fell back into the sofa, as May approached him. "Heading back home or staying here?" she asked, sitting on the arms of the chair.

Peter ruffled his hair, turning to face Tony. "D'you mind if I stay over, Mr. Stark?"

"Not at all," Tony replied quickly, glad that the kid wasn't heading home just yet. The thought of him leaving his sight, or being even the smallest distance away was paralyzing.

May nodded, "Is it okay if I stay here too?" she asked Tony, who agreed quickly. "I just can't, y'know?"

"I know," Tony replied, the pair looking down at Peter who'd fallen asleep in that short span of time, head lolling back on the sofa.

May moved one of Peter's curls from his face, her eyes welling with tears as she stood up from where she was perched and gave Tony a hug. "Thank you. Thank you for bringing my baby back to me."

Tony hugged her back, "I'd do it a thousand times."

May nodded and soon, she too was off, trying to find an unoccupied room, before settling for Peter's.

* * *

Tony was the last person still awake, the events of the day still reeling in his mind. The battle. Creating the gauntlet. Going back in time. Had that all happened in one day? In 24 hours? God, the days seemed to have blurred together. He poured himself a glass of water and was about to head towards his bedroom when he heard a soft whimper. Pausing, he turned back to the common room, and spotted Peter, his breathing ragged and uneven, his chest rising and falling rapidly. _Shit, he's having a nightmare,_ Tony thought. Immediately, his reflexes for these kind of events (which had been dormant for five years) kicked into work, and he quickly made his way over, placing one hand on Peter's cheek and the other on the kid's shoulder. "Peter? Wake up, okay? It's just a dream, you're safe now."

Peter's eyes flew open, looking around wildly before falling on Tony. "Oh, Mr. Stark, hey."

"Hey kid," Tony replied, helping Peter sit up as he moved to sit beside him. "You alright?"

Peter nodded, helping himself to the water in Tony's hand. "Sorry, parched."

Tony rolled his eyes and continued to rub Peter's back. "What was it about?"

Peter drained the glass, and began to trace his finger around the rim. "Everything that's happened. God, it's been a long day."

"It's been a long five years, Pete," Tony murmured, before he could stop himself.

Peter shook his head in disbelief. "I still can't believe it. Five years? I was gone for five years - it's just - it's a lot to get used to. I kinda get what Captain America must have felt when he came out the ice."

Tony nodded, never considering how messed up it would be to realize the entire world - the people you love - just moved on without you. "I know, kid. I know."

Sighing, Peter spoke quietly. "I felt it, when I was being dusted." Tony turned to look at Peter so quickly, he cricked his neck. "It hurt - like a lot. And it was the same, when I was coming back. Like every single piece of me was fusing together. And then the fight - and being scared when I saw you heading towards the gauntlet. God, I was so scared."

"Peter-" Tony began, but the kid cut him off.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't let you do it. I just-" the kid paused, his voice cracking "I couldn't. It would have killed you."

"You don't know that," Tony interrupted, but Peter nodded.

"I do," he said, turning to look at Tony, his eyes filled with tears. "Do you remember what Dr. Strange said? There was 14, 000, 605 and we only one once. In that moment, when I was holding the gauntlet and you were telling me to give it back, I-" Peter hiccuped and Tony quickly wrapped his arms around the boy.

"Peter," Tony said, not realizing he was crying as well.

"When I snapped my fingers I saw it," Peter said, and Tony shook his head, confused.

 **FLASHBACK TO PETER IN THE SOUL STONE**

 _I opened my eyes and looked around me. All I could see was red and yellow, like a sunset, stretching into the beyond. "Hello?" I called. "Can anyone hear me?"_

 _"Peter Benjamin Parker," a voice said, echoing as though it were speaking from all sides._

 _"That's me," I replied, "and you are?"_

 _"I **am** " the voice responded. _

_Peter nodded, rocking on his heels, "that's... informative." He paused, "Where am I?"_

 _"The space where all things meet," the voice replied._

 _"Uh-huh," Peter said, looking around. "And why am I here?"_

 _"You," the voice explained, "wielded the gauntlet to protect your family, your universe. There is no greater honour. This space, this is where heroes come to rest."_

 _Peter's mouth dropped slightly, "I'm in heaven?"_

 _"In a manner of speaking," the voice replied._

 _Peter nodded, feeling as if the air had been knocked out of him. "So, I'm dead."_

 _"Yes," the voice answered, "and no."_

 _Peter whistled, "that clears things up."_

 _"You can go back, if you choose to. Or you can finally rest," the voice offered. The air in front of Peter shimmered and he was met by three figures; his parents and Uncle Ben. "The choice is yours, Peter" they spoke in unison._

 _Peter stood still, shocked. "Mom? Dad? Ben? What are you guys doing here?"_

 _"We're here to take you on, if that is your wish" they replied._

 _Peter shook his head, still shocked. "I - uh, I don't know what to do." He closed is eyes, thinking of something that would help him decide. "If you can do the things I can, but you don't. And then the bad things happen-"_

 _"They happen because of you," they responded in unison, nodding._

 _Peter let a tear fall down his cheek. "I need to go back. I have to. They still need me. My family - they need me."_

 _"Are we not your family?" the voices asked._

 _Peter smiled, moving towards them and reaching out, his hands passing through the figures as though they were mist. "You are, but I don't quite think I'm ready to see you yet. I still have a lot of responsibilities to the rest of my family." He smiled at the figures, which vanished just as quickly as they'd appeared._

 _"You continue to fight, and in a worthy manner," the voices said. "It is an honour to be wielded by you," the voice said and then everything went white._

"You died," Tony said, after Peter had explained what he'd seen in the stones.

"Kind of? They were sort of unclear about that," Peter replied, rubbing his forehead.

Tony considered his next words, "did - are you glad you came back?" he asked, unsure if he'd be prepared for the answer.

Peter sighed, a heavy sigh, one that Tony knew was a result of carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. "I am. A small part of me wanted to be selfish and stay, but I couldn't. I couldn't leave you and May and Ned and Pepper and MJ and now Morgan." Peter smiled as he said her name, "she told me Peter was your favourite superhero."

Tony's grip on Peter's shoulder tightened slightly. "Yeah, you are," he said, looking at Peter through his tears. "God, it's been so hard without you, you know? I - I couldn't breathe when you left. It was like all the air had gone out of my lungs and they were in a vice. And when I got back, and the others went to go kill Thanos, and he said he destroyed the stones - it killed me. If it wasn't for Pepper, and Rhodey and Morgan and Happy and May - I don't think I would've ever gotten over it."

Peter nodded, "It wasn't ever on you anyway - my dying. It's not your fault. And it never will be. We're in this together and sometimes it means we might not come out of it together, but that doesn't mean the fight is over" Peter explained. "It may have taken you five years, but you managed to bring everyone back. This couldn't have happened without you."

Tony shook his head, "No Peter. I did this for you." Peter's heart stopped, as Tony continued. "I had finally moved past it and then Cap, Nat and Scott showed up at my door rambling about the Quantum Realm - and at that point I'd already exhausted every form of time travel that I could think of. I'd already thought of the Quantum Realm and shot their idea down. I lost you but I had Morgan, I had my second chance." Peter nodded, "but then I saw that photograph of the internship that you gave me, and I realized that if I could have Morgan and have you, god that would be amazing. I did this for you. So I could have it all. It was selfish," Tony said, finally admitting what he'd been feeling throughout the day as people thanked him one by one.

Peter shook his head, "No. You did it because you cared." Peter wrapped his arms around Tony. "That's why I didn't give you the gauntlet. I wanted to keep you safe," the kid's voice came, muffled by Tony's chest.

Tony pulled Peter in closer, "I love you kid."

"I love you too, Tony" Peter replied.

And for once, everything was good.


	8. The One Where Peter Is Drunk and Stoned

**Prompt: Drunk Peter.**

 **I have been waiting for this prompt my entire life (aka since January which is when I started** **writing these fics). There will probably be more instances of Drunk Peter in later chapters cause we all know kids never learn. In the previous chapter I mentioned the time Peter got drunk and went to his internship and caused him and Tony to get quarantined because he fucks up his improved webbing solution - this is that story.**

 **PS- For all who are about to judge Peter for his music choices, I just based this off of shit I do when I'm drunk because that's when the trap music comes out (I can't stand it otherwise). Basically, Peter's turning up in the lab, which frightens Tony cause he hasn't turned up in years.**

* * *

Peter was lucky. he'd made it through several years of not succumbing to peer pressure. While everyone else went out drinking and got high, Peter was webbing himself around the city, stopping muggings, assaults and thefts. Would he have liked to be hanging out with his friends and having fun? Sure. But someone had to keep the people in Queens safe, and Peter feared that if he dragged his eyes away from there for even a moment - anything that happened would be on him.

"And that, Mr. Stark, is why I don't go to parties" Peter explained, as he refilled his web cartridges.

Tony, who was sitting opposite the kid, staring at a 3D projection of the new watch he'd been designing paused, and with a swipe, cast it away. Sighing, he took of his glasses. "Kid, you need to have a life. You can't beat yourself up about everything that happens when you take a break," he said.

Peter's face morphed from one of dejectedness to indignation as he cried, "hey! I have a life."

"Hate to break it to you, but building legos, going to your school clubs and spidermanning don't count as a social life, Pete" Tony said, counting off his fingers. "And watching vine compliations as well."

Peter grumbled something under his breath in response and Tony was pretty sure he caught the word "uncultured" in there somewhere. Tony walked around the work bench and took the webshooters out of Peter's hands. "You need to go out with your friends-" Peter's mouth opened and Tony shushed him. "Ah-that's not a suggestion it's an order. Consider it as part of your internship." Tony, who'd been fidgeting with the webshooters as he spoke held them out to Peter.

Peter nodded silently, taking them from Tony's hands and continuing to work.

* * *

 _So, in hindsight, this was all Tony's fault,_ Peter thought as he and the rest of the decathlon team relaxed at Betty's place. They were there to prepare for the next round, but so far no one had asked a single review question. In fact, they weren't doing anything school or academic related at all.

"We just won regionals, I think we can afford a little break," Betty said to MJ, who considered this. "Besides, I brought something to help us celebrate!" Betty headed to a small drawer in the TV stand and rifled around before pulling out a ziplock bags with several joints.

"Fuck!" Flash said, his eyes wide in excitement. "Betty! Colour me impressed."

MJ looked over at Peter and Ned, who's eyes were just as wide as Flash's but for a different reason. "Uh, are you sure about this?" Peter said hesitantly, and Flash rolled his eyes.

"Of course you'd pussy out Parker," he said rolling his eyes and turning to Betty. "What else you got?"

She ran over to the kitchen where she unearthed four bottles of cheap, gas-store vodka. "You guys in?" she asked, turning to Ned, Peter and MJ.

 _You need to go out with your friends_ , Peter remembered Tony saying. _I mean, technically I am out with them ... and I'm pretty sure I'll be fine with my metabolism. A couple drinks should be_ okay. "You know what? I'm in."

MJ and Ned turned to look at Peter. Ned gave him his "What?" look, while MJ tried to understand when Peter decided to be rebellious. Peter walked over to Betty and grabbed one of the bottles, "got any shot glasses?" he asked her and Betty nodded quickly, pulling out disposable ones from the bag. Peter poured and lined up the shots, before staring at Flash, MJ and Ned, who were still shocked. "Don't tell me you're backing out, Flash" Peter challenged, nudging a shot towards him.

Flash scoffed, standing up and coming to a stop by the kitchen island. "I'm no pussy Parker."

"Hey, pussy is powerful," MJ said joining the others, Ned following behind.

* * *

"So, how much do you think you need to drink to get smashed?" Ned asked Peter, who was wandering around in search of food. He knew he was going to get hungry but his metabolism in combination with his munchies was a lot. He felt like he could eat through the stock of a McDonalds.

"I dunno, a lot probably," he replied. He didn't feel smashed, but he was a little fuzzy. "How much we got left?" he asked Ned, who turned to check the coffee table in Betty's living room.

"One and a half more bottles," he said.

Peter grinned.

* * *

Happy came to pick him up about twenty minutes later, and Peter had already downed an entire 750 mL bottle of Smirnoff straight - without chasing. Flash clapped him on the back, forcing Peter to stumble forward. Flash grabbed his arms, helping Peter stay upright.

"Gotta go - internship" Peter said, grabbing his backpack and jacket. _Fuck, I feel floaty. And relaxed. Ohh, this feels good,_ Peter thought as he opened Betty's door and headed down the steps to where Happy's car was waiting for him. Peter went to grab the handle but became entranced by the warped image of himself in the chrome reflection. _Woah, my face looks so weird. Like a mask. My face is like a mask for my skull. The fuck._ "KID! Get in the goddamn car!" Happy yelled, rolling down the window.

"Oh yeah," Peter said, finally grabbing the handle and tugging it open, collapsing in the back and laying across the seats.

"You alright back there?" Happy asked, the partition already up in the car.

"Yeah, m'fine Happy. Let's go internship!" Peter yelled, trying to sound as coherent as possible. He had a feeling that Mr Stark was not the type to take kindly to his underage intern showing up drunk and stoned to work. "WOOHOO internship!" Peter cried, attempting to mimick his usual, upbeat demeanour.

It seemed to fool Happy, who continued to drive along, getting them to the tower within 15 minutes. As they drew nearer to the tower, Peter gnawed at the several bags of chips and crackers he had in his bag, in an attempt to absorb the alcohol he'd drank, and doused himself with some febreeze. Peter hopped out and tapped his card, jumping up and down to sober up.

"Hello Peter," FRIDAY spoke as he stepped into the elevator. "Mr. Stark is waiting for you in his lab."

"Lessgo," Peter said, making a rocket noise with his mouth as the elevator swiftly moved up the first 50 floors before sliding open straight into Tony's lab.

"Hey kid, you doing okay?" Tony asked, looking into a microscope. They'd been working on creating nanotech that would react to the user's brainwaves, thereby protecting them without the user having to program changes to the armour - they'd just think of the change and the armour would do it. Tony was partly inspired after seeing some weird alien shit down in San Francisco, where the tech basically protected itself and in doing so, protected the user.

"Yeah, I'm great!" Peter said, tossing his bag and jacket on to the sofa before wandering over to where his desk was and opening some files on the newest web formula. "What you working on?"

"Bleeding Edge," Tony replied shortly. He'd been working on the new armor since Pepper went away on business a few days ago. Now that she was heading back tonight and Peter was over, Tony wouldn't be able to stay awake as much as he liked to. A silence fell over the lab, and Tony turned to look over his shoulder, and watched with mild interest as Peter rapidly typed away, adding new compounds to the web formula. _Ok, he's never this quiet. Something's up._

"You okay kid?" Tony asked, kicking on the ground hard, and sliding his chair over to Peter's desk.

 _Fuck, he's on to me_. "Yeah, I'm fine," Peter said.

"Not hiding any injuries from patrol?" Tony probed and Peter shook his head. Tony nodded, and went back to his station, looking back at Peter every couple of minutes. The kid had his earphones in and was jamming to something as he stared at the computer which was mapping the molecular structures out to test for volatility.

Tony watched him stop what he was doing, "dab" and do a little head nod before speaking. "FRIDAY, turn off his earphones and connect the music to the speakers."

Suddenly, loud music blared from the speakers. A piano with some heavy bass in the background. "BUST DOWN THOTIANA. Pick up and break that shit down!" Peter looked over at Tony, who looked straight up confused. Shrugging, Peter continued to sing, "I wanna see you bust down and bend that shit over!" as he typed away, clapping intermittently.

"What am I listening to?" Tony asked no one in particular.

"Thotiana, by Blueface. Released in 2018. Single from Famous Cryp-" FRIDAY began but she was silenced with a wave from Tony's hand. "What even is this?" he asked Peter who smiled.

"It's trap Mr. Stark. It's good music to turn up to," Peter slurred slightly, as he stared at the screen in front of him, manipulating the compound.

Tony raised an eyebrow, "what does turning up even mean?"

"Turn up," Peter said, sighing. "Means-" _don't let him catch you_ , "-studying."

"Okay," Tony muttered. "These kids just keep getting weirder."

The lab was silent except for the music, which continued to go down Peter's spotify playlist. After first couple songs, Tony actually didn't mind it. The music was quite diverse. One guy sang about how all his friends were dead and pushed him to the edge ( _relatable_ , Tony thought), another sang about having horses in the back and another sang about having a mask off(?).

After twenty minutes, Tony heard a loud grumble and Peter reddened slightly. "Hungry kid?" he asked, and Peter nodded.

"How does chinese sound?" he asked, and Peter nodded, before asking FRIDAY to double their usual order. Tony stared back at him, surprised. Peter was usually pretty hesitant about ordering food, mostly because he was a little embarrassed about spending Tony's money.

"What? I'm really hungry. It's all that decathaloning," Peter explained, as he eyed several beakers in front of him.

"Uh-huh," Tony said, still watching the kid. Something was off, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He shrugged, turning back to his work, when suddenly, there was a loud, explosive BANG and the shattering of glass. He whipped around and spotted Peter, hand and head stuck to the desk by his webbing formula. "Kid," Tony yelled, running across the lab, and straight through a plume of smoke, "you alright?"

"mmhmm," Peter groaned, pulling his head off the table, a couple cuts on his face from the glass. "Whoops!"

Tony, after making sure Peter was alright, raised an eyebrow. "Whoops? Whoops? That's all you gotta say?"

Peter winced in pain, "stop yelling. Too loud."

Tony paused and gently placed a hand under the kid's chin, tilting his head up so they were looking eye to eye. "You look out of it kid. Friday, do an analysis."

"Peter seems to be suffering from a marked depression of motor activity. This is likely due to the presence of THC and high alcohol concentration in his blood stream," FRIDAY replied.

"WHAT?!" Tony yelled at the ceiling, ignoring Peter's whimper of pain.

"It appears Peter is high and drunk, sir," FRIDAY replied politely.

"WHAT?" Tony repeated, turning to Peter who tried to smile. "Kid, what the hell?"

"Sorry," Peter mumbled, looking down.

"Why? What were you thinking?" Tony replied, sitting down next to him.

"Internship," Peter muttered and Tony gave him a look that said " _explain."_ "You said to go out with my friends."

Tony felt his stomach sink slightly. He had told the kid that, but he didn't think that Peter would show up to the lab drunk and high, causing an explosion. "Kid, I didn't mean for you to day-drink. And get high. How the hell did you even get this stuff?"

"Decathlon," Peter replied, trying to hide his grin, which Tony was mirroring. "Decathlon get's lit sometimes."

"I can see that," Tony laughed, before coughing hard and looking around at them, the smoke still swirling. "What were you mixing?"

Peter shrugged and pointed at the screen. Tony stood up and peered at it, before sighing. "Sulfur? Really genius? You didn't think about its reactivity?"

"Nah," Peter replied, staring around the room, and tugging at his hand which was still stuck to the desk. "Whoops."

Tony groaned, "FRIDAY, do we need to quarantine the lab?" he asked, already anticipating the answer.

"It would be advisable to remain on lockdown for 24 hours," FRIDAY responded. "I shall notify the rest of the tower's occupants and Ms. Potts, Mrs. Parker, Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Hogan."

Tony groaned, "thanks FRI." He turned back to Peter, who stared back at Tony uncomprehendingly. "You're gonna be the death of me, kid."

Peter shook his head, "Nah. You're not allowed to die. Unless Pepper gives you permission."

Laughing Tony, relaxed slightly. "Looks like its just gonna be you and me for the next 24 hours Peter."

Peter shrugged, "Believe me Mr. Stark, there are worse people to be locked in a room with."

"Amen," Tony replied.

"Big mood," Peter added, causing Tony to give him a confused look.

"Wh- you know what? Nevermind," he said, as they began to clean up the shattered glass, Peter trying to help as best as he could, hand still stuck to the table, covered in webbing. Slowly, they managed to get the bulk of the mess cleaned up, while FRIDAY used the funnels to help the smoke dissipate. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the glass and Tony spotted Happy standing there, looking confused and worried, holding a large remote, tapping it.

Tony nodded and turned to the large dumb waiter he'd installed when he'd built the tower. It was supposed to be for the days when he was stuck in the lab working on projects (he'd usually zone out and forget to eat and sleep), but I guess it was useful for quarantine situations as well. Tony walked over to it, and slid open the door, grabbing the large brown bags of food and bringing them to Peter's table.

"You alright in there boss?" Happy asked, his voice coming through the speakers.

"We're fine, the kid just mixed up some chemicals wrong." Happy gave Tony a questioning look.

"Kid's a genius. how'd he mess up?"

"He's drunk and stoned," Tony supplied and Happy's eyes widened in shock.

"What?"

"You heard me," Tony replied, trying not to laugh. "Don't worry about it, I can take care of a drunk kid."

Happy rolled his eyes, "He's got superpowers."

"Yeah, well I'm Ironman," Tony replied, and Happy shrugged, walking away, likely heading off to go and pick up Pepper from the turned back to the food, and was surprised to find Peter had already laid it out, and was digging into some fried rice and chicken. "Save some for me, kiddo."

"M'sorry I got drunk," Peter said thickly, eyes unable to meet Tony's.

Tony shrugged, "Not me you have to apologize to kid. Just keep the underage drinking and drug consumption to a minimum."

Peter raised an eyebrow, "you're not mad?"

Tony considered this: _Am I mad?_ "No. I mean, I'm a little disappointed and annoyed that you blew up the lab and now we're stuck here. But I'm not mad." He paused, "You know all about the fucked up shit that I've done, so I'm not in a position to judge. Hell, I was doing worse at your age."

Peter was quiet for several minutes, before speaking again. "You were going through a lot, plus being a teenager ain't easy."

"You don't need to justify my shit, kid," Tony said. It wasn't a secret that Tony despised himself before the whole Afghanistan thing. He was a dick. He knew that. Everyone knew that. But he still carried a lot of that guilt over into his new life, post-Afghanistan. And everyone had gotten used to Tony's brand of self-depricating humour, except for Peter. Didn't matter if Tony or someone else said something bad, Peter would justify Tony's actions, and while he liked it at first, he didn't know if that was healthy - Tony wasn't a saint and Peter needed to know that. He was looking up to the wrong guy.

"I'm not," Peter shot back, sounding kind of annoyed. _The high must be wearing off, and now he's getting grumpy,_ Tony thought. "I've been where you are. It sucks ass."

"Watch your language," Tony replied, still thinking about the kid's comment. "And it does suck," he added. "But you became Spider-man. I became an asshole."

"Everyone's a little bit of an asshole. Even I am. I got us stuck here," Peter said, onto his fourth helping of Kung Pao Chicken. "Shit happens, and everyone reacts differently to it. It's what makes us human, our ability to feel things, emotions."

Tony stared at the kid for a moment, "when did you become an expert in psychology?"

Peter paused, "i used to go to therapy," he replied shortly.

Tony nodded, "I tried it. It didn't take."

Peter nodded, "S'not for everyone. I only went for a couple months."

"Your parents," Tony stated, watching Peter fumbling with the chopsticks as he raised a piece of chicken to his mouth.

Peter paused, mouth open as if he were about to correct Tony, before thinking better of it. "Uh- yeah. That."

Tony raised an eyebrow, but didn't decide to probe any further, choosing to tune back into the song currently playing. "What's this?"

"Wild Thoughts," Peter replied. "Rihanna, Bryson Tiller, and DJ Khaled."

Tony nodded along to it, before squinting. "Is that-?"

"Maria Maria, by Santana," Peter said slowly. Tony gave Peter a questioning look, "What? I listen to everything."

"Everything?" Tony challenged.

"Everything," Peter stated.

"Aerosmith?"

"Yes."

"Korn?"

"Yes"

"Fleetwood Mac?"

"May's favourite."

"Blondie?"

"Ben's favourite."

"Queen?"

"My favourite," Peter said, shrugging. "Freddie's an icon, and Brian's practically an astrophysicist and can play the guitar like a motherfucker."

Tony smirked at the kid's language, choosing not to reprimand him,"Debussy?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Moonlight Sonata."

"Fuck, you weren't kidding."

"Nope," Peter replied, shaking his head. "You don't listen to much new music, do you?"

Tony shook his head, "I'm too busy designing the technology of the future."

"So worried about the future, you don't realize your already in it," Peter recited to Tony, who raised an eyebrow. "Something May says all the time," he said, noticing Tony's questioning look.

"Stoned Peter is a philosopher, too" Tony quipped and Peter smiled. "You've got a lot of years in you kid," he said.

Peter shook his head, "Not so much years. More like shitty cards." Peter paused, "You think you're gonna be kinda old when you bury your parents, but no one tells you you're gonna be four. No one tells you that you're gonna grow up quicker than you need to when you're eight, but you have to. No one's gonna tell you that at age 14, you're gonna get superpowers, and you're gonna hold your second father as he dies. Shit happens. You just gotta pick yourself up and move on."

Tony waited a moment before speaking, Peter's words lingering in the air. "Sometimes it's hard to move on," Tony said, thinking about how he'd reacted when Zemo showed him the video of the Winter Soldier killing his mother.

Peter nodded, "Yeah. But eventually you do. And you know you've moved on cause it doesn't hurt so much to look back." He waited before speaking some more, "When my parents died, I didn't cry." Tony turned to Peter who nodded, "May and Ben thought it was weird, but they chalked it up to me not fully understanding what was going on - which is true. But, the thing is, it hurts 'cause I was so little that the earliest and only memory I have of my parents is when I buried them. It's fucked up, I know."

Tony clicked his tongue, "Never thought about it like that, kid."

"S'okay. Everyone has it different," Peter explained. "All you gotta do is be nice. That's really the only thing you should be doing, to be honest."

"Wouldn't need superheroes then, would we?" Tony added. "World would be a hell of a lot more peaceful. I could finally rest."

Peter scoffed, "I seriously doubt that. You've never rested a day in your life, 'cause the devil never rests."

Tony rolled his eyes, "I'm not the Devil, kid. He works in Hell's Kitchen."

Peter's eyes widened, "You know about Daredevil?"

Tony nodded, "I keep an eye out for promising talent. That's what brought you to me."

"Uhm, no. I distinctly remember it bringing you to me," Peter replied. "Do I need to get May to bring you more walnut date loaf? Maybe it'll jog your old man memory?"

"Okay, smartass," Tony laughed, glad the conversation had moved to something a little more lighthearted. "How did you hear about him?"

Peter rolled his eyes, "I might work in Queens mostly, but sometimes I venture out to the island." He paused, "I met them once."

Tony's chopsticks fell from his hands, "You _met_ him?"

Peter nodded, "Nice person. Gave me some tips."

Tony smirked, "Like how to micromanage the shit out of ten blocks of lower manhattan?

"They've set their self a realistic goal," Peter said defensively.

"Who else have you met out there?" Tony asked, "that you've conveniently forgotten to tell me about?"

"Luke Cage. Jessica Jones. Daredevil, Punisher, Cloak and Dagger" Peter listed, ticking names off his fingers.

"Wait, what?" Tony said, sounding shocked. "You've been running your own team-ups?'

Peter reddened slightly, "It's not like I'll be teaming up with the Avengers at any point," he replied. "Plus they're all really nice."

"I haven't heard of a couple of them. Cloak and Dagger?" Tony asked.

"It's a long story," Peter said. "And I don't really remember much of it right now."

Tony nodded, "and Punisher? How do you know him? He's notoriously angry. Worse than Bruce during one of his Hulk episodes ... God I miss that great big green bastard," Tony added fondly.

Peter rolled his eyes, "Can't tell you. Made them a promise."

"You're gonna put a promise to the Punisher over being honest with me? You wound me," Tony said, mimicking a knife-would in his chest with his chopsticks.

"Hey, knife wounds are nothing to joke about. They hurt like a butt-cheek on a stick," Peter replied, laughing to himself.

Tony rolled his eyes. "Is this one of those vine references that I'm too old to understand?"

"Ah, so you admit that you're old," Peter replied, grinning widely.

"Looks like your metabolism's starting to kick in some more," Tony said, watching the kid with mild interest. His eyes didn't look as dilated as they did earlier. "How're you feeling?"

"I dunno, kinda ... floopy, I guess" Peter said, thinking hard. "Still hungry though," he added, eyeing the last of the chilli chicken.

Tony pushed the carton towards him. "I gave up on trying to meet your food consumption ages ago. Just watching you makes me need some Pepto." Tony paused, before asking his next question, hoping it wouldn't put the kid off. "Don't people at your school notice? Like you eat a ton, but you're still pretty skinny."

Peter considered this, "Well. I know MJ noticed, but I just told her that I started going to the gym here cause it's free. May just thought it was hormones and stuff, which I guess is what everyone else must be thinking. Flash thinks I'm juicing," here he and Tony laughed. "I - uh - was playing basketball and my senses were in overdrive, so I was dodging everyone. Then I remembered I had to be really bad at it, so I just straight up fell over and face planted."

Tony squinted at the kid. "Really? And everyone just bought it."

"I used to be super clumsy, so yes, they did," Peter replied. "I got that whole Clark Kent thing going on. No one will ever know."

Tony snapped his fingers. "Hate to break it to you, but you're terrible at keeping secrets. Remember when Aunt Hottie found out?"

Peter rolled his eyes, "May finding out was an accident."

Tony scoffed, "Imagine what she's gonna do when she finds out about this?"

Peter's eyes widened, "You wouldn't. May-May can't find out about this. She'd kill me."

Tony waved it aside, "I don't think she'd be that mad. Everyone deserves a break now and again. Hell, I've been trying to get you to take a break since the day I met you."

Peter nodded. "I want to take a break," he explained, sounding desperate for one, "but crime never sleeps."

"You're a kid, Pete. No one expects you to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders," Tony argued. "That's what I'm here for."

Peter smiled, "I've never been one to ask for help, Mr. Stark. I like to think of my self as the-"

"'Suffer in silence' type," they said in unison. Tony placed a hand on Peter's leg, "I know first-hand that its a lonely way to live and it leads to more problems than it's worth."

"Thank you, Mr. Stark," Peter replied quietly, his brow furrowed in thought after his mentor's words.

"Anytime."

* * *

 **So, I'm going to start updating on my other three stories more too, cause I have the time. And I'm working on a 5+1 for this pic (they're all going to be one chapter, with the six mini-chapters in it), and the theme is "Five Times Peter Saved Tony and the One Time Tony Saved Peter." Let me know if you have any ideas for Peter Saving Tony, cause I already have one for Peter Saving Tony.**

 **Remember to Read and Review guys! 3**


	9. The Five Plus One

**Five Times Peter Saved Tony, and One Time Tony Saved Peter**

 **Sorry it took so long, but the story kept getting deleted and so much of it had to be rewritten because my wifi connection is shit.**

 **The first one-shot is taken from the ASM2 ending, with Peter and the Rhino. I just loved that whole exchange, so I wanted to use it.**

 **The + one is sort of dark and depressing. There is some reference and mentions of past sexual abuse.**

 **BTW I made a Tumblr so feel free to harass me there. My name is** **itsy-bitsy-spiderling.**

* * *

 **1**

Every now and again, the people of New York would get to see a Spider-Man and Iron Man team up. It wasn't exactly rare, but people were huge fans of the two heroes, and nothing made them happier than seeing them working together - especially in light of the Avengers' break up. All the public knew was that Steve Rogers and Tony Stark were on opposite sides of the Sokovia Accords, and no longer wanted to work together. Since the Avengers' union in 2012, many media outlets had been reporting that Steve and Tony never got along - which was far from the truth. The pair got along just fine, until the Winter Soldier. But so many people had bought into this narrative, having remembered what Tony was like before he became Iron Man, and the two years immediately after he first donned the metal suit. And with the Rogue Avengers in hiding, Tony became the scapegoat for all these issues, and people firmly began to believe that the old Tony Stark was back.

But seeing Iron Man work alongside the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man had changed public opinion. All anyone knew about the vigilante was that he mostly worked out of Queens, but would venture out to other areas in and around New York. They'd heard of the web-slinger joining forces with other vigilantes, but none were as reputable and internationally known as Iron Man. So, many people wanted to know just how well the two knew each other, and it wasn't uncommon for Tony - when he did the odd press conference - to be asked about the man under the mask. Tony never gave anything away though, which led many to hypothesize just how close the pair were. Until they didn't need to hypothesize anymore.

Peter was currently in the middle of a decathlon meeting at Midtown, flicking aimlessly through the notes in front of him, sighing as MJ continued to yell at Flash. Throughout the day, he'd felt the same prickling sensation on the back of his neck, which he had aptly named his Spidey-Sense. usually, it was active when he was on patrol, but he found that it would prickle whenever something bad was going to happen, and since it'd been acting up all day, something big was coming. "You good?" Ned asked, leaning over. "Usually you get a kick out of watching MJ hand someone their ass," he added, sounding concerned.

Peter smiled, "What can I say? It's nice to see that she yells at us all the same way."

Ned nodded, "But seriously. You look kinda out of it. Sure you're feeling well?"

Peter nodded, "My Spidey-sense is acting up. Happens when I'm feeling antsy, but it'll die down when I go on patrol," he explained, closing his binder, and propping his head on his fist, as MJ asked Flash if he'd ever been dropped on his head. Suddenly, there was a bleeping sound, and Peter checked the watch Tony had given to him. It looked like a tricked-out fitbit, and measured everything, while also being hooked up to KAREN and FRIDAY. The small LED light flashed red, and Peter quickly shot out of his seat, collecting his stuff. "Sorry, I gotta go. Doctor's appointment," he lied, shooting MJ an apologetic look as he ran out of the classroom. She merely raised an eyebrow, eyes following him out of the room.

Peter ran down the street before ducking into a nearby alleyway, and changing into his Spider-Man suit. He webbed his bag to the wall behind the large dumpster and began climbing towards the roof of the building."KAREN, what's going on?" he asked, his HUD lighting up, as small videos and images appeared on the bottom, like a news reel.

"There's been a major incident with the Rhino in Lower Manhattan. All police and emergency personnel have been notified," KAREN responded. A small map appeared on the left, mapping out the quickest route. Peter began to swing southward, when there was a ringing noise. "You have an incoming call from Tony Stark," KAREN said.

"Answer it," Peter replied.

"Hey kid," Tony's voice said, echoing slightly. He must have been in one of his suits. "You see a large mechanized Rhino anywhere?" he asked conversationally.

"Not yet, but I'm on my way over now," Peter said, swinging as fast as he could.

"I see you," Tony said, and sure enough, Peter could hear the whoosh of repulsers as Tony flew alongside him. "So, what's the plan here Pete?"

Peter bit his lip. "Uh, corner the animal and tranq it?"

"We gotta work on your confidence, kid" Tony said, trying not to laugh as they neared the sounds of sirens. "Scan for civilians in the danger zone, and remove them. I'll try to keep the asshat's attention on me," he ordered, before flying off.

"Sounds good, Mr Stark" Peter said flying off. He spotted the Rhino in the middle of the street, barrelling towards the barricade of police cars, before being stopped by the repulser blasts. Peter began collecting civilians and moving them behind the barricade on the other side of the street, before landing on a police car. Tony's attempts to get the Rhino's attention weren't really working, just making the guy angrier. The Rhino's armor moved slightly, revealing the wearer. Peter stared at Sytsevich, recognizing him from an attempted robbery a few months back. The man grinned manaically, "SPIDER-MAN? YOU FIGHT ME? FIGHT ME NOW!" he cried, beating the mechanized paws on the chest-plate of his suit.

Peter groaned inwardly, catching a megaphone one of the officers had tossed towards him. Behind the Rhino, Tony was using some extra suits to create a larger barrier, protecting the civilians and police officers from the mechanized and automatic rifles encased in the Rhino's armor. "On behalf of the people of New York and real Rhinos everywhere, I ask that you put your mechanized paws in the air." Tony shook his head as he imagined the grin on Peter's face.

"NO! I CRUSH YOU! I DESTROY YOU! I KILL YOU!" Sytsevich cried, banging his mechanized arms on the pavement, causing it to crack and shake.

"Hold on, I gotta ask for permission first," Peter yelled through the megaphone, raising a finger. "IRON MAN, PERMISSION TO DIE?"

"PERMISSION DENIED. KICK ASS, SPIDER-MAN!" Tony yelled through the armor. Peter tossed the megaphone back at the officer, as the Rhino began to charge, firing two large missiles at Peter, who deflected one of them with an abandoned car door, causing it to fly back and hit the Rhino's armor, slowing him down slightly, while the other missile smashed into the concrete. Peter continued to charge, as the Rhino raised a large paw in the air, and brought it down. If it wasn't for his powers, Peter would have been crushed. Instead, he caught the armor and wrapped his arms around it, before lifting it and judeo flipping the mechanized animal over his head, exposing the underside of the machine. Tony fired several smaller repulsor bursts at the armor, causing bits of metal and debris to fly off, as Peter brought the Rhino down with a sickening _crunch_.

Alexei was knocked out, and Peter used that opportunity to pry the metal open and pull him out, where the police were able to handcuff him, "Stark Relief will take care of the clean up," Tony said, his faceplate up as he watched the scene. He turned to Peter, who was staring at the mechanized armor with interest. "Thinking about turning into Rhino-man?" he asked with a smirk.

Peter scoffed, shaking his head. "No, but ... something's not right. My spidey sense is still tingling." He continued to stare at the control panel inside of the suit, which was lit up like a Christmas tree. He gently prodded one of the torn wires with a long finger.

Tony gave him a concerned look, "what-"

Tony's voice was cut off as Peter was suddenly flung backwards by a strike from the mechanized arm. Apparently, the armor was still on alert, designed to protect it from being further tampered with when the controller was removed.

The armor then turned on Tony, faceplate back on, and arms raised. He shot a few blasts, but the armor continued to advance. An arm swung upwards before flying out and swatting Tony off into a nearby building, which cracked and creaked. The Rhino continued to advance, each stomp on the concrete destabilizing the building more and more. Suddenly, the armor halted, its feet digging into the concrete like it was being pulled back by something. Tony managed to dislodge himself from where he was wedged in the concrete building and was watching the fight unfold in front of him, eyebrows raised. Behind, Peter had shot two webs at the Rhino's legs, tugging it backwards, before flinging himself up, shooting another web and grabbing a battered, abandoned car and bringing the vehicle down on the armor, shattering it into a hundred pieces. Behind the police barricade, people began to cheer, but they were cut short. When Peter had struck the armor, the ground had shaken so severely, that the building Tony had been thrown into began to shake. Tony, however, had been too focused on Peter to pay any attention to what FRIDAY, the bystanders and Peter were yelling at him. The building teetered before tipping over. At the last second, Tony turned and quickly shielded himself with his arms over his head, bracing for the impact. But it never came. Instead, people were clapping and cheering. Slowly, he lowered his arms and opened his eyes, faceplate flying up, as he stared in front of himself.

Peter was standing over him, hands raised as he held up the building. "Mr. Stark, are you okay?" he yelled.

"Yeah," Tony replied breathlessly. "Thanks, kid."

"Anytime," Peter replied, his grin evident despite the mask he wore. They stared at each other for another minute before Peter piped up. "Uh, Mr. Stark? If it's not too much trouble, do you mind moving? This is getting kinda heavy."

Tony nodded, and quickly rolled out of the way, before summoning the stabilizers he'd used when Peter accidentally tore the ferry in half. They pushed the building until it was upright, and Peter began to web up the cracks with his newest formula, designed to help keep things together until the city had fixed it. With a nod, the pair set off for the tower, Peter making a small detour to collect his bag.

By the time he'd gotten there, Tony was already out of the suit, and was about to pour himself something to drink. "Good job out there," he said, moving the glass aside and heading to the freezer, where he unearthed two tubs of Stark Raving Hazelnuts. Peter quickly changed out of his suit and caught the ice cream and spoon as Tony tossed it to him.

"Thanks," Peter replied. "It was nice to have backup."

Tony raised an eyebrow as he sat down on the stool next to Peter. "Kid, you're back up. I'm the main event."

Peter laughed, as he dug into his ice cream. "You would have been in the cement if I let you get crushed by that building," he noted.

Tony's eyes widened. "Oh my god, I was the dumbass in distress," he whispered, looking devastated.

Peter furrowed his brow, "Don't- don't you mean 'damsel in distress,' Mr. Stark?"

Tony shook his head, "I'm not a woman, Pete. 'Damsel' refers to a woman."

Peter whistled, "You have some seriously fragile masculinity if you're gonna change a whole saying cause it would imply you're a woman." He continued to dig around in his ice cream, scooping out the hazelnuts.

"Did you just sass me?" Tony asked, smiling.

"Oh my god, I've been spending too much time with MJ," Peter whispered, mirroring Tony's look of disbelief from earlier.

Tony shook his head, "So you actually can lift up a whole building. Never would have believed it otherwise," he joked.

Peter rolled his eyes as he ate his ice cream, "I thought we both came to the conclusion that I am freakishly strong."

Tony nodded, "True. But really kid, you did good. You took that guy down in like five moves. You been training or something?" he asked, referencing all the hours he and Rhodey spent at the compound training the kid.

"I live by a simple motto," Peter began, noticing how Tony's face became serious. "'In this world, you either yeet or get yeeted,'" Peter said, as seriously as he could.

Tony stared at Peter for a full minute, "What the actual fuck?" he whispered, turning back to his ice cream, missing the shit-eating grin that crept up Peter's face.

* * *

 **2**

Peter was a smart kid. There was no denying that. But his intellect surpassed the areas of science and mathematics, branching out into all spheres of academia. He was, for one thing, very gifted with languages, something that Tony had yet to find out. In fact, he could speak quite a few. English, of course. Spanish, through having taken classes since he was a kid. Italian, from May. But he had taken it upon himself to learn other languages, such as Mandarin and Hindi, knowing they'd be helpful at some point. He knew he wanted a career as a scientist, and that meant needing investors, so he thought this would give him a leg up. But much like the rest of Peter's life, nothing ever really went according to plan. He got bitten by a radioactive spider, developed superpowers, which eventually brought billionaire business owner and fellow engineer/scientist/inventor Tony Stark to him. Now investors were the last thing he needed to worry about, he thought, as he entered the tower.

Tony had messaged him a few minutes earlier, letting him know that he was going to have to sit in a meeting with Pepper and some potential investors from India. As Peter wandered into the foyer of the Tower, he was met with an odd sight. The entire foyer was quiet and empty, save for a man in a suit, who was speaking in rapid-fire Hindi to Devon, one of the security guards at the front desk. Peter wandered over, noticing Devon's distress. "Hey Dev, what's going on?" he asked.

Devon shot Peter a grateful look, as he turned to him. "I have no idea what he's asking me. I think it's something about a meeting, but there are several going on in the office right now."

Peter nodded and turned to the man, "Hi, my name's Peter. Can I help you?" he asked in Hindi.

The man's eyes widened and Devon looked incredibly relieved. "I'm looking for Tony Stark and Pepper Potts. I have a meeting with them," the man said. "My colleagues already went ahead, I got stuck in traffic," he explained and Peter nodded.

"Devon, can we get a guest pass? He's supposed to be in a meeting with Mr. Stark," Peter explained, as Devon typed furiously on the computer. A moment later, he passed a small card to the man, who took it gratefully.

"I'll walk you up there," Peter said, leading the way through the security checkpoint and into the nearest elevator.

The man looked at Peter with interest, "Don't mind my asking, but you look quite young to be working here," he said.

Peter smiled, "I don't really 'work' here. I'm Mr. Stark's intern," he explained as they got onto the elevator.

"And you speak Hindi?" the man questioned.

Peter nodded, "I taught myself a few years ago. I never thought I'd really need to use it until later."

The man nodded, "How old are you?"

"16," Peter replied.

"You must be an incredibly smart 16 year old if you're working for Tony Stark," the man replied, grinning. "What do you want to do when you're older?"

Peter looked thoughtful for a moment. "I want to help people, and I'm really good at science, so I think I want to help people using science," he said finally.

The man nodded, "that's good. I'm assuming you build stuff in your spare time?"

Peter nodded, and pulled out a pair of earbuds he'd been tinkering with. "I built these a few weeks ago, and I've been testing them out. They're like airpods but better. I shrank the battery from the newest Starkphone and even added a tracker in case you lose one - or both," he explained, passing them to the man.

"Incredible," he muttered, looking at the earphones intently. He looked back up at Peter, passing them back to him, "You should show those to Stark. I'm sure he'd be impressed."

Peter nodded as the elevator doors slid open, and led the way for the man. They walked down a hallway before spotting a large glass room, where Tony and Pepper were sitting with some businessmen. The man pointed, "Found my people." He turned to Peter and said thank you.

Peter nodded, "Anytime." He watched the man enter the room smiling, and shaking hands with Pepper and Tony. Peter went back to the elevator and headed up to the lab, where he promptly ordered some food, and took out his homework and made a start. About half an hour later, FRIDAY alerted Peter that his food had arrived at the front desk. Ignoring the loud rumble in his stomach, he grabbed the earphones and headed back down. As he headed towards the desk, he spotted Pepper and Tony talking to the investors from earlier. Peter wandered over to the desk, collecting his food from Devon. "Thanks man," Peter said, checking the pizza.

Devon wrinkled his nose. "I was gonna take a slice, but then I realized you're a heathen who puts pineapple on pizza,"

Peter laughed, "I know, I know, I'm going to hell," he rolled his eyes. As he turned away, he caught the eye of the man he had helped earlier.

He beckoned Peter over to the group, and Peter followed, blushing furiously. "This is the young man who helped me find the room," the man explained to his co-workers who nodded.

"Thank you so much, we were beginning to get worried," one of the men said in Hindi.

Pepper opened her mouth, but Peter quickly responded. "It was nothing," Peter replied in Hindi, and the men exchanged looks of surprise.

"I told them you spoke Hindi, and they didn't believe me," the man explained. Peter smiled, as the man nodded, "show them those earphones! I was telling them how good they were."

Peter nodded and dug around in his pocket, before passing them to the man, who showed it to the group, Tony and Pepper. "Amazing isn't it?" he asked, and they nodded.

As they looked over them, Tony pulled Peter aside. "Kid, I didn't know you spoke Hindi! Why didn't I know that?" he asked.

"It never came up," Peter replied, as Pepper smiled at him. "I hope the meeting went well," he said to Pepper who nodded.

The man turned back to Peter, Tony and Pepper, "He's a good intern. Hold on to him," he said, passing Peter his earphones.

"What did he say?" Pepper asked.

"He said I'm a good intern and you're very lucky to have me," Peter replied. "It was nice meeting you... uh, I'm sorry I didn't get your name?" Peter said, blushing.

The man laughed, and took Peter's hand. "Raj Sharma, RS Technologies," the man said, and Peter's mouth fell open.

"No way," Peter exhaled. "Like, bendy glass RS Technologies?" he asked in awe.

Mr. Sharma nodded, before turning to Tony. "Next time you come to India, bring him with you. He's got an eye for this kind of stuff, and we could use his advice."

Tony lent down, "what did he say?"

"He said to bring me with you when you go to India. Apparently he wants my advice," Peter replied.

Tony nodded, shaking Mr. Sharma's hand. "I will," he said.

The trio watched as the investors left, but not before Mr. Sharma pressed a business card with his personal number on it into Peter's hand. As they headed back to the elevator, Pepper sighed in relief. "Honestly Peter, you're a godsend."

Peter looked confused. "What do you mean?"

Pepper shook her head, "the meeting was going south before Sharma got there, and when he did, he explained how the security had no clue where he was supposed to go, until you stepped in and brought him up. And he was going on and on about these earphones, but I had no clue what he was talking about. He said something about pairing them with the latest Starkphone. That's why he was here. We wanted to get approval to use their patented glass on the next phone, but he wasn't so sure. You won him over."

"I did?" Peter said.

Tony nodded, "He was gonna make a deal with Samsung or Apple, but if our product had something a little extra, he'd definitely be for it. Apparently all the phones on the market now look the same," Tony scoffed.

"You just helped us secure a million dollar deal!" Pepper said. "I'm bringing you to all my meetings now. Tony can stay in the lab."

"Hey!" Tony cried.

"Oh, so now you wanna go to the meetings?" Pepper retorted.

"Am I being replaced?" Tony asked himself. "Cause I feel like I'm being replaced."

Peter shook his head and looked at the business card, before flipping it over. Sharma had scrawled something on the back. _PS I know English, I just like to see how companies deal with differences._ Peter laughed, and passed the card to Pepper and Tony, who rolled his eyes.

"So we just got played by an old man?" Tony asked, eyebrows raised.

"You sneaky boi," Peter whispered under his breath, staring at the card in disbelief.

* * *

 **3**

Peter had just turned 16. Peter watched a lot of TV, so he knew that when people turned 16, they often got their driver's licenses. But, Peter also happened to live in New York, where driving was as pointless as shrink-wrapping an orange ( _fuck you, Whole Foods, we're in the middle of a climate crisis,_ Peter thought). Add to that, the fact that May didn't own a car, and it made sense why Peter never considered getting his license. That was, until Tony harassed him into doing so. Whenever Peter was staying at the compound, Tony would let him drive the Audi (it was the least expensive of his cars) around the area. If the kid was really well-behaved (aka, when he didn't give Tony a heart attack), then he'd get to drive the car once they'd left city limits.

The pair were on the way back from one of their weekends and Peter had - after wearing Tony down for hours) managed to get the man to agree to let him drive the car to the Tower.

But it came at a price.

 _"Mr. Staaaark," Peter whined, trailing after the man as they cleared up the kitchen. "It's a genetic thing," he argued._

 _Tony rolled his eyes, and turned to Peter. "Yelling 'Road Work ahead? I sure hope it does" every time we pass a road work sign is not a genetic thing. It's a stupid thing," he replied._

 _Peter rolled his eyes. "Not my fault you're an uncultured swine," he huffed, no bite behind the words._

 _"Is calling me an uncultured swine supposed to make me let you drive back?" Tony replied, whirling around and letting his jacket flap around him like the drama queen he is._

 _Peter folded his hands, "I promise I won't make any vine or meme references for the duration of the ride home," he said. "No matter how much I want to," he added. "No matter how much it kills me not to yell "the fucking M25" when we're on Route 87."_

 _Tony nodded, before tossing Peter the keys. "Atta boy," Tony said, ruffling Peter's hair as the kid stared at the keys like they were made of gold. "Come on bambino, Pepper and May are waiting."_

They were currently barrelling down a mostly empty highway, Tony's eyes fixed on the speedometer as Peter drove. "Watch it, kid. Just cause it's under my name, does not mean I want to pay any tickets," he said, as the dial passed 130 km/h.

Peter rolled his eyes, his grip loosening on the wheel as he eased off of the gas. "There aren't any cameras for the next 20 kilometres," Peter groaned, earning a questioning look from Tony. "I've been paying attention. Plus, I can kind of hear the electricity from the cameras. It makes a different noise from the lights and traffic signals," he explained.

Tony shook his head, and let out a small whistle, "that will never cease to amaze me."

Peter thought of Daredevil, and his heightened senses. "It was a lot to get used to at first. I could hear everything. One of the downfalls of living in the city, I guess."

Tony nodded, "You can stay at the compound whenever you feel like its a lot. Or the Tower? The top levels are completely soundproofed," he offered.

"I'll keep the offer in mind, and I'll be sure to remind you of it next time I drop by," Peter said, smirking.

"Okay kid. I don't mind when you drop by. I do mind when you fly in through windows, unannounced, nursing some injury and playing it off like it's 'just a scratch'," Tony argued, using air quotes.

Peter sighed. "But sometimes it is just a scratch," he replied under his breath.

"I'm sorry, was that the sound of someone disagreeing with me?" Tony replied. "I must be going senile because last I checked, I was the adult here."

"You're 5'7" and wear lifts in your shoes, but go off I guess," Peter muttered, earning a small smack on the back of his head. "MR. STARK, I AM TRYING TO DRIVE HERE!" Peter yelled back, laughing.

"Key word being "trying,"" Tony replied, grinning. He took of his glasses and tucked them into his pocket, staring out the window. "It's actually kind of nice getting to watch the drive, instead of y'know, doing it," he said, staring at the empty farmlands. They happened across a small dirt road and Tony told Peter to turn onto it, "Let's take the scenic route, shall we?" he offered. Peter shrugged in response and turned right. His senses tingled slightly, but it was normal - they did that whenever he encountered a new area. They passed a large lake, partially obscured by large trees. "That'd be the perfect place to retire, live the quiet life," Tony lamented.

Peter furrowed his brow. In all the time he'd known Mr. Stark - which, granted, was just over a year - he'd never heard the man talk about retiring. Then again, he couldn't expect Tony to hop into an armor at the age of 80. "The quiet life, huh?" Peter asked.

Tony nodded, rubbing his temples. "I was supposed to retire," he admitted.

Peter's eyes widened, "Really? I don't remember any of that being on the news," he said, earning a glance from Tony. "I was a fan, okay?" he replied. "Sue me."

Tony chuckled, the corners of his eyes crinkling. "I was supposed to retire after the Mandarin incident - you remember that, right?" he asked Peter.

Peter rolled his eyes again. "You mean when you threatened a terrorist on live television, gave him your address, and your house was attacked and we all thought you were dead for the better part of a week?" he asked conversationally. "Sounds vaguely familiar."

"Okay, smartass," Tony replied. "Well, I was supposed to retire after that, and I didn't. I considered retiring after the Ultron incident. I mean, Barton did, and I thought maybe it was my time too. I actually considered building Pepper a farm," he added, causing Peter to laugh. "And when the whole Accords thing went down, but I just couldn't bring myself to retire. I mean, what if Earth needs Iron Man?" he hypothesized.

Peter nodded, trying to understand his logic. "Signing them would have restricted your obligations. But I guess that's what you wanted. To have someone else make the executive decision because otherwise you'd throw yourself at every conflict," Peter replied.

Tony nodded in response, "Yep. Just like another superhero I know," he added, turning to Peter, who reddened, choosing to focus on the narrow dirt path heading around a large hill. "Okay I-" Just then, Peter felt his Spidey-sense creep up his back, almost like someone had touched his neck with a hot poker. The car rounded a bend, and suddenly Peter yelled "Shit!"

Tony's eyes widened as a large van sped towards them, head on and out of control. "Turn," he barked, but Peter held the wheel straight. "Turn left, PETER YOUR OTHER LEFT!" Tony cried as Peter jerked the wheel to the right and hit the breaks, causing the Audi to screech loudly on the road before coming to an abrupt halt, smashing into the hood of the other car. Peter turned sharply in his seat, his back to the door facing Tony, his arms outstretched, and groaned loudly as the car door slammed into his back.

"Mr. Stark, are you alright?" Peter asked, staring at Tony, who looked positively terrified.

"Kid! Are you okay?" Tony asked, ignoring Peter's question, as he grasped the kid's shoulder.

"M'fine," Peter said, relaxing slightly. "You?" he pressed.

Tony nodded, "Yeah. Scared shitless, though," he added, earning a smile from Peter. The moment was ruined by a loud tapping on Tony's window, and a man yelling.

"You guys alright? God, I'm so sorry!" the voice said. Tony tugged at the door handle and after a few pushes, it opened, the man tugging on the handle from the outside, pulling on it.

Tony stepped out and the man took a couple steps back, his face morphing into one of regret _and_ horror. "Oh my god! You're Iron Man!" he whispered, hand flying over his mouth in shock.

Tony rolled his eyes. "Not in the suit, so right now, I'm just Tony Stark," he said, throwing his glasses on. He turned back to the car, helping Peter out. Tony turned back to the man, eyebrows raised, "care to explain what the hell kind of driving that was?" he yelled at the man, who cowered slightly.

"The van was messed up. I tried to pump the brakes but they weren't working," the man rambled, sounding ashamed. He stared at his feet, "I was coming down this hill, and I tried to move out of the way and - god - I'm so sorry." He closed his eyes, "I almost killed Iron Man," he whispered.

Tony rolled his eyes before speaking, "'Almost.' Everyone's okay for the most part," he said, turning back to Peter who gave him a thumbs up. "We should probably do the whole exchanging insurance numbers thing, huh?" Tony added, and the man ran off to his car, in search of his papers. Tony turned back to his and dug around in the glovebox for a moment. "Pete, mind giving Happy a call? Just send him your location and tell him to pick us up. And bring a cop with him," Tony added, as he and the man began to speak once more.

Peter nodded and pulled his phone out of his pocket, scrolling through his contacts before pressing 'Call.' It rang a couple times before Happy picked up. "Hey, uh Happy. It's Peter."

"I figured," Happy's dull reply came.

"Mr. Stark and I had a bit of an accident on the way back from the compound and we're gonna need you to pick us up. I've sent you our location and Mr. Stark said to bring a cop," Peter added, relaying the message.

"On it," Happy said before pausing. "You guys okay?" he asked, sounding concerned.

"Yeah, we're fine. The Audi's banged up on the driver's side though," Peter admitted.

Happy whistled. "Jesus kid, who was driving?" he asked.

Peter was quiet for a moment before replying, "I was."

Happy chuckled. "Well, I'm sure the boss is glad you're okay. But he's probably gonna kill you. That was his favourite car."

Peter groaned and Happy cut the phone. Tony and the man from the van had just finished exchanging numbers, before he headed back to Peter, who was leaning against the car. "Kid, you sure you're alright?" Tony asked. "That was a pretty hard hit."

Peter nodded, and lifted his shirt up, revealing a mass of black, purple and blue bruising on his back, which stretched out over the back of his arms as well. "Looks like it's gonna be long sleeves tomorrow morning, huh?" he chuckled, before noticing the grim look of guilt on Tony's face. "What?" he asked, "That wasn't even a vine reference, I swear."

Tony shook his head, "Peter, I told you to turn left," he sighed, taking off his glasses and placing a finger between his eyes like he did when he was stressed and worried.

Peter shook his head. "No. Then it would have hit your side."

"Thats the point, kiddo," Tony replied, staring at Peter. "That was so stupid of you, I-"

"Mr. Stark," Peter interjected. "I'm enhanced, remember? If that was you, I mean, you heard the guy - he could have killed you. And I'm not letting that happen," Peter said, before slamming his hand twice on the top of the Audi as he yelled, "Not on my watch. Not on my watch."

Tony rolled his eyes, the worry slowly disappearing from his face as he rested a hand on Peter's shoulder. "I'm gonna assume you're okay cause you're quoting vines," he said, and Peter grinned back.

An hour later, Happy had arrived, with a police car and a tow-truck following closely behind. The man was currently giving his statement to the officer as Peter and Tony stood nearby. As the man described what happened when he rounded the corner, Peter heard him say: "And I just thought to myself 'Jesus, take the wheel. Take it from my hands.'"

Peter began to laugh, but quickly disguised it as a cough, earning a disgruntled look from the nearby officer. He, Tony and Happy climbed into Happy's car, and took off. Tony stared at Peter for a moment. "The door on the driver's side has a small dent in it," he said, staring at Peter, who looked confused. "You took on the pressure from a van hitting my car at 130 km/h."

"You've seen me catch cars and hold up buildings, Mr. Stark," Peter replied dully. "How are you still surprised?"

Tony shook his head. "I'm the adult, Pete. You're not supposed to protect me, I'm supposed to protect you, remember?"

Now it was Peter's turn to shake his head. "No, Mr. Stark. That's not how it works. You protect me, and I protect you. It's a two way street, and I'm not having it any other way."

Tony smiled and placed a hand on Peter's shoulder, before turning away and looking out the window. "You still owe me a new car door," Tony said, grinning as Peter groaned loudly.

* * *

 **4**

Peter and Tony rarely went out to dinner together, choosing to get food delivered to the Tower. The reason behind this was threefold: 1) due to their unhealthy addiction to working in the lab until one of them collapsed from exhaustion, they never really made it out of the tower. 2) Peter couldn't really be seen too much with Tony, as many news outlets had pegged Spider-Man as being a relatively young man being mentored by Tony Stark. It was a small jump to connect Peter to his spandex-clad, crime-fighting alter-ego, and it was a jump neither of them were willing to risk. And the third reason? Well, there was the time Peter got shot.

Several times.

And a repetition of that incident was Tony's biggest fear.

Tony and Peter usually had dinner with his Aunt May at least once a month, and these dinners usually coincided with when Peter was going to stay overnight at the Tower. However, May had been called into work at the last minute. Peter had half-expected Tony to take him straight from his place in Queens to the Tower, but Rhodey was also in town at the time, and Tony decided that the three of them should go out for dinner - just the guys, he'd said, as Peter hopped into the backseat of the car. It took all of Peter's willpower not to sing, "three bros, chilling in a car, five feet apart 'cause they're not gay."

Rhodey rolled his eyes, and turned to Peter. "He's just mad because his wife isn't free. You and I, Pete? We're second string buddy," Rhodey laughed, and Peter broke a smile. Rhodey and Peter had a bit of a rocky friendship, what with the older man trying to stop Peter from his vigilante-ing, but after seeing just how stubborn the kid was, Rhodey let it go, and the pair became fast friends. It never ceased to amaze Rhodey just how much Tony had changed since the kid came into his life. Peter was a breath of fresh air and optimism, with all of Tony's genius, kindheartedness and compassion - he just wasn't as jaded and disillusioned with the world. But, Rhodey supposed, that came with having your family choose to leave you instead of being taken awaye.

"Pep's not my wife yet, Honeybear" Tony pointed out as he pulled away from the curb. "Not for a lack of trying," he added as an afterthought.

"I swear you and Pepper have been together since I was born," Peter piped up from the back. Tony reached back with one hand and swatted Peter on the head, earning a loud "Hey!" from the kid. "That's child abuse," Peter whispered, wide eyed causing Rhodey to laugh.

Tony grinned, "Child abuse would be me forcing you to help me fix the Audi you fucked up."

"No, that's child labour," Peter replied thoughtfully. "And don't ever mention that in front of MJ. The sermon won't end," he explained.

Tony nodded. He'd only met MJ once, and the young lady was ... frightening to say the least. "So, where to?" he asked, turning to Peter and Rhodey, who shrugged in response.

"There's a new place around Hell's Kitchen. Supposed to make a mean chicken tandoori," Rhodey offered, as he tapped the address into the GPS. Tony continued to mime driving (realistically, FRIDAY was the one driving) and they headed off. "So Peter, how's school been?" Rhodey asked conversationally.

"Uh, not too bad Mr. Rhodes," Peter replied nervously. It wasn't that he didn't like people asking about school - he did. It's just that with school came Flash and with Flash comes the shitty feelings.

Tony rolled his eyes, as Rhodey laughed "Seriously kid? You're still calling me Mr. Rhodes? Come on, it's Rhodey - or Uncle Rhodey to you."

Peter reddened and Tony rolled his eyes. "For the fortieth fucking time, he's not biologically my kid, Rhodey," Tony replied.

"And to clarify, Mr. Stark is not my dad," Peter added.

"Could have fooled me," Rhodey murmured under his breath, earning an inquisitive stare from Peter. "What?" he cried, noticing the looks he was getting from the pair. "Ya'll look and act the same. Smart as hell, too. I'm just saying."

Peter rolled his eye grinned, while Tony merely looked straight ahead. _Maybe ... maybe we're more alike than I thought,_ he wondered. But Rhodey snapped him out of his thoughts once more. "So have you and Pep picked out a place for the wedding?" he asked.

Tony nodded, "I think she's got her eye on a couple places," he said, trying not to make it look like he'd left all the planning to her.

"She's looking at the Plaza, obviously, but I told her that was way too basic. So then I suggested something at the Tower, 'cause you guys want it to be a little bit of a private affair. But I went on a trip upstate recently for a decathlon thing, and the place we stayed at was so pretty, and it's out in the middle of nowhere, so you'd have tons of privacy. I can't remember the name, but I got a card from there and gave it to Pepper," Peter concluded, earning himself questioning looks from the two men. "What?"

Tony shook his head, "Are you going to add 'wedding planner' to your resume too?" he asked, and Peter rolled his eyes.

"What? Pepper's a busy lady and she could use the help. I'm not really doing much anyway -"

"Cause flying around Queens in spandex, risking your life ain't much?" Rhodey interjected.

"Point," Peter began, "Is that she needed some help and I wanted to help her. She does a lot."

"Ain't that the truth," Rhodey replied.

"Amen," Tony added. "So Pete," he said, feigning a conversational voice, "all the wedding stuff isn't making you wanna rush out and find someone, does it?" he asked.

Peter turned red, and Rhodey laughed at the kid's deer-caught-in-headlights face. "Uh, wh-what do you mean?"

"Well, what's on your list?" Rhodey asked, trying to calm down.

"What list?" Peter stammered, looking between the two, as they exchanged knowing looks.

"What are you looking for in a person?" Tony asked bluntly.

Peter looked thoughtful for a moment, before singing: "I want a church girl that go to church, and read her BIBLE."

Tony groaned, covering his face in his hands, as Peter laughed. "Not a vine. Dear god, not a vine," Tony murmured. He looked up and folded his hands in prayer, "I can do this, Just two more years and then he goes to MIT."

"What if I don't wanna go to MIT?" Peter asked, earning glares from Rhodey and Tony.

"The fuck kid?" Tony asked, shocked. "You're going to MIT. End of discussion."

"My nephew ain't going anywhere but there," Rhodey replied simultaneously.

"But Cambridge is cold. I was thinking somewhere sunny and warm, like CalTech," Peter replied, messing around with the two. He was going to MIT - _I think_.

"Fuck Caltech," Rhodey stated as Tony replied "over my dead body." Peter grinned, and the car fell into a comfortable silence. Peter's phone began to ring, and he unearthed it form his pocket. "Uh, mind if I?"

"Go ahead kid," Tony replied.

Peter answered it. "Hey Ned? No, no, not today. I'm with uh- Mr. Stark right now. Yeah we're grabbing dinner. Actually, Colonel Rhodes is, here too. NED! I'm not asking him for his autograph," Peter whispered violently, ignoring Rhodey and Tony's muffled laughs. "Are you seriously calling that favour in now? Now? Fine. I'll ask later. God, you're an embarrassment to the wizarding world." This remark earned weird looks from Tony and Rhodey who listened closely. "Yeah, yeah I was there. Nah, Flash was messing around. Yeah, so MJ called him an ignorant slut, and he started sulking. Because he hasn't watched the Office. 'Cause he's a dumbass." There was a silence, "Yeah I saw that too. Fucking straight parade? Like, really? Well, yeah, I was gonna go this year. Maybe I should go as Spiderman, with the pride flag as a cape. Oh, that'd make the heteros upseteros. Ok, yeah. We'll hash it out later. I'll talk to you in a bit, tell her I said hi. Escalera," Peter said.

"FUCK YEAH" Ned cried loud enough for all the occupants in the car to hear. Peter cut the phone and gave the pair a sheepish grin, "sorry 'bout that."

"Kids these days," Rhodey replied, shaking his head.

"'Heteros upseteros'?" Tony asked, and Peter nodded.

"Oh yeah, apparently there's gonna be a straight pride parade in Boston," Peter began, as he launched into the whole story. "-and yeah, it's just very frustrating. So I was thinking of dropping by the Pride Parade as Spiderman, cause its 20-gayteen."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "I like it," he said, nodding. "We could change the suit colours a bit too," he added as they pulled over by the restaurant.

Peter nodded, "that'd be great Mr. Stark. Thanks."

They headed in and were seated a few seconds later (perks of being Tony Stark), and the trio began to discuss the next round of Peter's training. Midway through dinner, Peter jerked violently, a hand flying to the back of his neck.

"Kid?" Tony asked, laugher vanishing from his face, and being replaced by worry. "You okay?"

"Something's about to happen," Peter whispered, and the door to the restaurant opened, the bells tinkling. Peter could hear the man's foot steps, a heartbeat racing and the faint click of a gun's safety being removed. "EVERYBODY GET DOWN!" Peter yelled, upturning their table, and pulling the two men down. A round of gunfire tore through the restaurant and people screamed.

Tony fiddled with his watch for a moment, before it morphed into a small gauntlet. The man turned to their table and advanced, his gun pointed at Tony. But before Tony could react, Peter jumped front of him, knocking him out of the way as the man fired several more rounds. "KID, NO!" Tony cried.

Peter ran towards the man, taking several shots, but continuing to advance before grabbing the man's assault rifle, crushing it in his right hand. He curled his left hand into a fist and knocked the man backwards with an uppercut. He fell to the floor, unconscious. Peter tossed the weapon aside and turned back to Rhodey and Tony, "are you guys okay?" he asked, eyes wide with adrenaline.

"Peter," Tony said, his face morphing into one of shock and terror. "Oh god," he muttered, running towards the kid.

"What?" Peter asked, looking confused. He looked down and immediately regretted it. His torso was growing red with blood, bullet holes littering his body. The fact that he was wearing a white hoodie made the wounds look even worse.

"Compound, now!" Rhodey ordered, and Peter felt himself being swept up into Tony's arms and ushered out of the restaurant. Tony and Rhodey made their way to the car, Rhodey unlocking the trunk, revealing a large, suitcase-esque item in the Iron man colours. Tony gently placed Peter in Rhodey's arms before heaving the case out of the trunk and stepping into it. The suit morphed around him, and he quickly took Peter back. "This isn't gonna be comfortable kiddo," he said through the mask.

"S'okay. I trust you," Peter replied, as the pair flew up into the sky, and towards the compound. Peter could hear Tony talking, but couldn't focus enough on the words.

"-ay wake, alright. No sleeping," Tony yelled, but Peter's eyes had already rolled back. "Shit. SHIT!" Tony cried, urging FRIDAY to use the combined thruster. The pair landed at the compound a couple minutes later and Tony ran inside, straight to the medical wing, where doctors where already on alert, directing him to an OR. He spotted Helen Cho in the room, standing by an empty bed, and quickly deposited Peter on it. "He's not responding," Tony cried, and Cho nodded.

"Don't worry Mr. Stark. we've got this," she said as her team advanced on the bed, leaving Tony to brace himself against the hospital wall.

"You're going to need to leave," Cho ordered, and Tony nodded, slowly trudging back outside of the room, willing the armor to open.

He slid down the wall opposite the OR window, ignoring the blood stains on his clothes and hands. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck" he whispered, eyes welling with tears. He closed his eyes, but was immediately greeted with images of Peter bleeding to death. He didn't know how much time had passed. Was it minutes? Seconds? Hours? Days? He concentrated harder and could make out the faint irregular beeping of the EKG, and let out a shaky breath. _Peter, you are NOT dying on me. You don't get to do that,_ Tony thought savagely. The door down the hall burst open and he spotted Happy and Rhodey walking towards him. It must have been a few hours now.

"How is he?" Rhodey asked, bending down to Tony's eye level.

"I don't know," Tony stammered. "I-I just brought him in and - Oh God, Rhodey. He was covered in blood. Fuck."

"He's gonna be okay, Boss. The kid's tough," Happy said, coming round to Tony's other side.

"You need to shower and change," Rhodey said. "Happy already called his Aunt, and she's on her way."

Tony shook his head, "No I have to wait. I need to know he-" Tony's voice was cut off as the EKG blared loudly.

Tony felt himself go numb. _Peter's flatlining._ He stumbled up to his feet and looked inside the room as one of Cho's assistants wheeled the defibrillator towards them, grabbed the paddles and rubbed them together. "CLEAR!" he yelled, slamming them on Peter's open chest. He continued to flatline.

"Get up Peter," Tony said, hand on the glass as he stared a the scene in front of him in horror.

"Again!" Cho ordered, as the paddles were rubbed together.

"CLEAR!" the man yelled again, slamming them on Peter's body once more.

Nothing. "GET UP PETER. GET UP NOW!" Tony screamed, slamming his fists on the window.

"Highest setting, now!" Cho barked.

"CLEAR" the man said, his voice wavering slightly, as he slammed the paddles down on Peter for a third time.

 _Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._

Tony relaxed, collapsing into Happy's arms. "He's gonna be okay Tony," Rhodey said, rubbing his back.

One shower, a change of clothes, and a hysterical Aunt May later, the pair were sitting on either side of Peter's bed, waiting for him to wake up. Tony looked over the teen at his Aunt, who's eyes were wet, red and bloodshot, her hands shaking as she clasped one of Peter's, her eyes on the boy. She only had eyes for the boy. He was all she had.

"May," Tony croaked, his voice sounding rough and unused (he hadn't spoken in hours). "God, May. I am so sorry," he said.

May shook her head, "It's not your fault, Tony. You guys were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Tony sighed. "It should have been me,' he whispered.

May gave him a withering look. "Peter wouldn't have let that happen," she said. "You mean a lot to him and my son didn't take several bullets for you to wallow in self pity. By doing that, you're - you're disgracing him."

Tony nodded, "I'm sorry."

May shook her head, "It's okay, Tony. You just - you need to understand. You're everything to Peter. He's to shy to admit it, but he cares about you a lot. It'd kill him if something happened to you and he couldn't stop it."

Tony nodded, "he's a great kid."

Just then, Peter's eyelids fluttered, and the hand in May's tightened and twitched. "What happened," he groaned.

"You got shot," Tony said, and May gave him an annoyed look. "What? That's what happened. You remember that right? We went out to dinner ..." he trailed off as Peter nodded.

"Yeah, I remember now," he sighed, as he tried to push himself up.

"No, stay put baby," May said. "I'm going to get Cho and grab you some food," she said, brushing Peter's curls out of his face fondly. "I larb you," she said quietly, placing a kiss on Peter's forehead.

"I larb you, too" Peter whispered, watching as she walked away. He then turned to Tony, "sorry about -"

"Kid, you took a bullet for me and you want to apologize?" Tony asked, patting Peter's hand lightly. "God, you're fooling people with this saint act," he huffed, smiling.

Peter grinned back, "Actually I took several bullets for you, so" Tony's stomach lurched as he remembered the blood and the holes and - _oh god._ "Does this mean we're even for the Audi?" he asked.

Tony nodded, running a hand through Peter's curls, and watching the kid sigh contently. "Yeah, kid. We're even."

* * *

 **5**

Peter knew Tony had a birthday: May 29th. He used to mark the date on his calendar (now, on his phone). Growing up, he'd imagine what Tony Stark was doing on his birthday. Prior to Afghanistan, he thought Tony would throw elaborate parties with celebrities (which was true). Post-Afghanistan? Low-Key parties with people he actually liked. Post- 2012 New York? Parties with the Avengers, of course. Now that Peter knew the man, the question took on a different meaning. _What did Tony Stark do on his birthday_? Peter thought.

The answer?

 _Not what Peter expected._

Peter knew that he was going to be at the Compound over the weekend. He also knew that Tony's birthday was that Saturday. He tired to ask Happy, Pepper and Rhodey what they were doing, but the minute he brought up Tony's birthday to any of them, they all grimaced. "Maybe - maybe you shouldn't come over," Rhodey said, and Pepper nodded slightly.

Peter looked between the two. "Really?"

Rhodey nodded, "I'm not going to be here, I have a couple meetings at the Pentagon," he explained.

"And I have a trip to India for those investors you helped me secure," Pepper said, ruffling Peter's hair.

He nodded, 'You're probably right." _I'm not gonna listen though,_ Peter added in his head, already planning out his gift for Mr. Stark.

So, on Friday night, after his patrol, he swung over to the Tower, landing on the small helipad and wandering in, tossing his bag on the sofa, before wandering over to the kitchen, grabbing his old Midtown sweater he usually left at the Tower (Tony always kept it a little bit chilly) off the back of a barstool. That's when he noticed it. He took a couple steps backwards and noticed the bar, which was located off to the right of the kitchen, was completely destroyed. Several bottles lay empty on the countertops, while smashed glass littered the hardwood floor.

Peter looked around, worried. "FRI, where's Mr. Stark?" he asked, knowing he wasn't about to like the answer.

"Boss is currently in the lab," FRIDAY responded helpfully.

 _Fuck_ , Peter thought, as he ran towards the elevator and hopped in. FRIDAY shut the doors and took him down to the labs. _He's been sober for a while now, hasn't he?_ Peter thought.

"Since 2015," FRIDAY supplied. Peter started, not realizing he had spoken out loud.

The doors slid open and Peter headed to the lab. Immediately, he jumped, hearing the loud smash of glass. He peered in the lab and spotted Tony standing in the middle of the room, gauntlet on as he fired repulsor blasts at a row of empty bottles lined on the counter across from him. The lab was a complete mess, papers strewn about, filing cabinets and tool boxes splayed out, some with dents, the tools flung about the room haphazardly.

Peter edged towards the door, which slid open quietly. Tony hadn't spotted him yet, too focused on shooting the bottles - his aim was terrible. Growing frustrated with his poor aim, he stormed across the room, grabbing one of them and hurling it randomly, before doing the same with the rest. He flung one in Peter's direction, but Peter managed to catch it as it whizzed by his ear.

"Pete," Tony whispered, looking at the kid with wide eyes and a horrified expression. _So this is what I must look like when I get caught,_ Peter thought as he placed the bottle on the table near him.

"Mr. Stark? Are-are you okay?" Peter asked, before backtracking. "Actually, never mind, that was a stupid question. Clearly, you're not okay."

Tony stared at Peter, squinting. After a moment, he finally spoke: "Either my hallucinations have gotten more akin to the real thing, or you're just absolutely stupid for showing up here when Pep and Rhodey told you not to."

Peter shrugged. "Guess I'm just stupid then," he smirked, making his way across the room slowly, so as not to frighten the man.

Tony backed up slightly, his hand still raised, aimed at Peter. "Kid, don't come any closer," he ordered, looking slightly scared.

Peter held his hands up so Tony could see them. "I'm not gonna hurt you Mr. Stark," he said softly, moving closer.

"Kid - _don't_ " Tony whispered, his hand moving higher as he fired a warning blast at Peter's feet. The kid stopped, looking at the smouldering floor, before continuing to move forward. "I'm serious Peter, it's not safe. I'm not safe. You -just leave me alone," Tony cried, his eyes welling up, and looking more bloodshot. He fired another blast.

But Peter kept moving forward until he was in front of Tony. He grabbed the man's gauntlet-clad hand and placed it in front of his heart. "If you were gonna hit me, you'd hit me, not the floor."

"You have zero self-preservation instincts," Tony slurred matter-of-factly, his hand still pointed at Peter.

"Well, look at my mentor," Peter replied. He moved forward, "You gonna hit me or not?"

Tony shook slightly. "I'm not Howard," he whispered.

Peter nodded, "I know," he said, before tapping Tony's watch, letting the gauntlet retract back into the unit. He tentatively placed a hand on Tony's shoulder. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," Tony replied cagily, twitching slightly.

Peter raised an eyebrow, "I'm gonna call bullshit on that, Mr. Stark." He guided the man to the sofa in the back of the lab and sat down next to him, the room silent for a few minutes. "So, you gonna tell me why you're destroying your lab?"

Tony shrugged. "Sometimes I like to break things instead of fix them," he replied slowly.

Peter nodded, "I get that. Does -does breaking stuff make you feel better?" he asked tentatively.

Tony was silent for a moment. "It helps a little," he admitted.

"But do you feel better afterwards?" Peter pressed.

Tony threw his hands in the air before burying his face in them. "Christ on a carousel, Parker! What are you, my therapist?"

Peter shook his head, "No. I'm just trying to help a friend.'

Tony grimaced. "God, I'm friends with a baby," he whined.

"I'm 15, Mr. Stark," Peter replied.

"I need a drink," Tony grumbled, making to stand up, but Peter placed a firm hand on the man's shoulder, forcing him to stay put. Tony turned towards him, "Really kid? You're gonna use your super-strength on me?"

Peter shook his head, "If it comes to it. Which it won't."

Tony scoffed, "God, you have no idea how any of this works, do you?"

Peter cocked an eyebrow, "Try me."

Tony smirked, "You'll find out soon enough that friends aren't always gonna be your friend."

Peter tensed slightly. "I've had that lesson," he replied tightly, his eyes darkening. "But I'm assuming you're talking about, y'know, _them_." The Rogues were sort of an no-no topic in the Tower. The briefest mention of them led to a moody and annoyed Tony, which everyone tried to avoid.

Tony rested his head in his hands. "I just - I tried so fucking hard to keep us together," he whispered. Peter nodded, rubbing Tony's back. "But he just wouldn't listen," Tony continued. "And then, the whole thing with Barnes... and Nat - she just - stabbed me in the back at the end. And Rhodey... God, that's... that's on me."

Peter shook his head, "None of that is on you." Tony gave him a look that read _oh really?_

"Check out the news kid, they're being very specific," Tony replied, staring at the TV in front of them which displayed old news reels detailing the Avengers' break up, all of them blaming Tony for the falling out.

Peter stared at it for a moment, "they're idiots." He waited a moment, before getting up off the sofa, and grabbing a large wrench from the floor. Tony watched as the kid marched towards the TV, and swung the wrench as hard as he could, bringing it down on the glass screen, breaking it into two pieces. Peter tossed the wrench aside and sat back down next to Tony. "That's not you, Mr. Stark. And this," he gestured around the room, "this isn't you either."

Tony rolled his eyes, "Kid, you're better off without me. Just take what you want and leave. That's usually how this works." He paused, "everybody leaves."

Peter was quiet for a moment. "Well, I'm not everybody. And I'm not leaving. Sorry, Mr. Stark, but I plan on sticking around forever."

Tony smiled slightly. "Was that a pun?"

"Maybe."

"Peter-"

"Mr. Stark, do you know why I look up to you?" Peter asked suddenly, surprising the man, who shook his head. "Because you showed me and every other person in the world that you can change. You showed everyone that Tony Stark can go through hell and come back a better person. You showed a kid from Queens that you don't need to be injected with a serum or experimented on to be a hero. It's not Iron Man that made me look up to you, it was you. You freed yourself in Afghanistan. You fought Stane when you saw he was doing some shady shit. You were dying and in searching for a cure, created a whole new element. You flew a nuke into a wormhole to save the world from an invasion. You tried to keep your family together, when Ross tore it apart. _You_ did that." Tony stared at Peter's who's eyes were welling with tears. "They don't get to decide how you see yourself. Only you get to do that," Peter paused, "but if it helps, I've always thought you were pretty great," he finished.

Immediately Tony wrapped the kid up in a hug a second later. "Peter, I'm so-" he began.

"You don't need to apologize to me," he said, voice muffled by Tony's sweater. "But you need to take a shower and get changed. And no more drinking. I'll clean this up as best as I can in the meantime." Tony nodded, getting up and dragging himself to the door. "And Mr. Stark?"

Tony turned around, "Yeah kid?"

"'M sorry about your TV," Peter replied sheepishly.

Tony shook his head and went to shower. About twenty minutes later, he found Peter sitting on the sofa in the living room. "Cleaned the lab already?' he asked, heading to the kitchen. As he walked by the bar, he noticed all the bottles had been cleared out. His lips tightened slightly, as he continued past, grabbing himself a bottle of gatorade from the fridge before planting himself next to Peter on the sofa.

The kid nodded, "Yeah. I've had a lot of practice cleaning up disasters what with May's attempts at cooking over the years." Tony nodded, taking a few gulps of his drink. "Mr. Stark?" Peter whispered.

"Yeah Pete?"

"I'm sorry you lost your family."

"I'm sorry you lost yours, kid. But I think we're doing alright, wouldn't you say?" Tony asked.

Peter nodded, quiet, before vaulting himself off the sofa, the sudden movement scaring Tony shitless. "Fucking hell Pete, are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

Peter grabbed his bag from the other sofa and tossed it next to Tony, rummaging around in it. "No, no. It'll be the cheeseburgers that get you in the end," Peter murmured. Tony laughed, and Peter rolled his eyes, "Heart disease is a silent killer, Mr. Stark. My spidey-sense might not catch it in time."

"Yeah, I have scarier things trying to kill me than heart disease," Tony replied sardonically.

"Mood," Peter replied, as he turned back to the billionaire. He presented Tony with a small gift wrapped up in Christmas paper and a card lying atop it. "Happy Birthday Mr. Stark," Peter said, handing them to the man.

"You remembered my birthday?" Tony asked, sounding surprised. He knew the Avengers did, but he wasn't really expecting anything from the kid, especially after Peter'd just walked in on him destroying the lab while drunk.

"Uh-yeah," Peter blushed, his hand flying to ruffle his hair like it did when he was nervous. "Funny story. I-uh- used to mark it on my calendar," he admitted, sitting down.

Tony smirked, staring at the kid, "You really are something else." He turned back to his lap and tore open the card first, taking a moment to stare at the drawing. It was clearly hand-drawn (by MJ, no doubt). It was a hyper-realistic sketch of Iron Man and Spider-Man fighting the Rhino. On the bottom of the card, in a web-like font, was the following: "We stan 1 man in a tin can." Tony smirked, not at all surprised by Peter's words. He could only imagine what was written inside as he opened it, his eyes met with Peter's untidy scrawl ( _the mark of a true genius_ \- Tony thought).

 _Dear Mr Stark,_

 _I want to wish you a Happy Birthday. Notice how I didn't write your age? It's cause I can't count that high._ Tony swatted Peter on the back of the head, earning a laugh from the kid as he turned back to continue reading. _Just kidding, no one can count that high._ Tony was about to launch into a sermon on respecting your elders, but chose to continue reading on. _While the circumstances surrounding our first meeting were undesirable, I'm glad that I got the chance to meet you. People always say never to meet your heroes, but I don't think you could let me down (even if you tried). And I hope I never let you down._ Tony placed an arm around the kid. _I know I don't say it much, but I am thankful for everything you've done for myself and for May. No one could ask for a better mentor. You've taught me things that go beyond Spider-Man, and although that's how we met, just know I will always be grateful for everything you've done. I also want to take a moment to thank you on behalf of everyone on this little blue speck that you've been protecting for years. You don't owe us anything, but we owe you everything. You deserve a birthday just as great as you are._

 _Signed,_

 _Peter Parker_

Tony closed the card, staring at the drawing. "Thanks Pete," Tony whispered.

"Anytime, Mr. Stark," Peter replied. "You gonna open the other one?" he asked.

Tony nodded, and stood the card up on the table, before tearing into the Christmas wrapping paper on the gift. Grinning he took out the black and silver frame. It was a picture of himself and Peter the day they decided to make the 'internship' cover legit. Pepper, Rhodey, May and Happy were all there that day and Pepper had hired a photographer to take the photo. Tony had thrown up a pair of bunny ears behind the kid's head, and Peter (obviously sensing this) had done the same, but he'd overestimated Tony's height (which led to an argument in which Peter mentioned that Tony wore lifts in his shoes - he'd threatened to ground Peter for a week, but the kid said that Tony should ground himself first). The certificate was, of course, upside down, because nothing they did ever went the way they expected. And they were having too much goddamn fun to notice.

"D'you like it?" Peter asked, trying to conceal his nervousness as Tony reminisced.

"I love it," Tony replied, standing it next to the card, before turning back to Peter. "Thanks for everything, kid," Tony whispered.

"That's my line," Peter pretended to grumble.

"Tony patted him on the back. "Seriously, you're a good kid Peter. I - uh" he stammered. _What the hell, I never stutter. God, he's rubbing off on me._ "Um, I - er" Tony said, still trying to find the words (he knew them, he just couldn't say them). He gesticulated as he continued to stutter.

Peter watched him in amusement. "So that's what I look like? Fascinating," he laughed, earning another swat from Tony as he continued to mutter. "It's okay," Peter smiled, "I know."

"Good," Tony said finally, leaning back on the sofa, his arm casually on Peter's shoulder. "So, what should we watch?" he asked.

"It's your birthday," Peter replied, sitting back as well.

"How about ... the Office?" Tony suggested meekly, as Peter shot up, turning to him, grinning madly.

"I knew it! I knew I'd get you hooked!" Peter cackled maniacally. "You said you hated it!"

"I do!" Tony yelled unconvincingly. "But I'm invested in Jim and Pam and I want to know if they end up together or not!"

Peter rolled his eyes and sat back as FRIDAY logged them into Netflix. "So, is this a good birthday so far? Compared to the ones you usually have?" Peter asked tentative as he fiddled with the hem of his shirt.

Tony smiled, looking at the kid, "Yeah. I mean the company's great. The gifts were amazing. Overall? Best one I've had in a long time." He pretended to ignore the smile and blush creeping on Peter's face, choosing to throw himself into the woes of the staff at Dunder-Mifflin.

So, what did Tony Stark do on his birthday?

 _Easy. He spent it with his kid._

* * *

 **+1**

Tony thought he had a pretty good handle on Peter Parker. In fact, if it were up to him, he'd say he was an expert on the kid. He knew everything there was to know. Peter liked pineapple and black olive pizza (a combo he'd picked up from a friend named Wade). Peter's best friends were Ned and MJ (these kids were definitely getting jobs as SI after university). Peter was a huge nerd (Harry Potter, LotR, Star Wars and Trek, Hamilton, he loved them all).

He even knew Peter's behavioural ticks. When the kid was loud and energetic, it had been a good day. If he was quiet and had a furrowed brow, he was working away on some sort of problem. If he was quiet and had dark circles and pale skin? He was tired and hadn't slept for whatever reason. If he was jumpy and evasive? It meant something was weighing heavily on his mind. Usually when that was the case, Tony could get Peter to talk to him, which often led to some form of advice-giving. Hell, after the kid had thrown out all of his alcohol, banned future purchases (unless it was for an event, or for family dinners) and forced Tony to develop some better coping mechanisms for his issues, Tony had no problem helping the kid with anything and everything. He was Tony Goddamn Fucking Stark, and he could fix anything.

But sometimes, there are problems that even Tony Goddamn Fucking Stark couldn't fix.

It was a hot, humid August night (actually it was 2 in the morning) and Peter was webbing around Queens, keeping an eye out for potential crimes. He'd stopped three muggings, one bar fight and prevented two car accidents. Every now and again, he was pause, atop a tall building, and take his mask off to wipe off the sweat on his forehead. He had the A/C on full blast in the suit, but it was making a minimal dent in how hot Peter felt. Honest to god, the suit was becoming a real sauna. He glanced down at the watch on his arm and noticed a couple messages from Tony. He scrolled through them. The first let Peter know to come in through the window in the penthouse's tv room when he was done for the night. May had gone to a friend's wedding and was going to be heading back to the city the following evening, so Peter was currently staying with Tony. The next was a goodnight message from Tony, who was going to head to sleep. Peter smiled. Ever since Tony's birthday, when Peter had disposed of his alcohol, the man had become more focused on taking care of himself and less on trying to pull the next all-nighter. He was proud that he'd made a small difference in Tony's life. Even Pepper and Rhodey seemed happier with Tony relying on them as opposed to nursing a glass in the evenings.

Peter stared out at the city, lights continuing to flicker against the dark sky. With a sigh, he put his mask back on and began to head to Manhattan. As he swung, he kept his ears open, listening for sounds of distress. As Stark Tower emerged in the horizon, Peter felt himself relax. Maybe he'd get to go straight there, have a nice and cold shower before crawling under his sheets for a good night's rest. If there was one thing he loved about the summer, it was that he could sleep in everyday instead of having to wait for the weekends. He was three blocks away from the Tower when he felt a slight prickle on the back of his neck, followed by a loud, bloodcurdling scream. "KAREN, where'd that come from?" Peter asked.

"On your right, two streets over. There's an alleyway" KAREN replied.

Peter swung furiously in the direction. He shot a web and rounded the corner, spotting an older man assaulting a young woman in the middle of an alley. Peter's eyes narrowed and he landed a kick to the man's leg, which made a horrible snapping sound. The woman staggered away, pulling her ripped cardigan over herself as she cried. "Are you alright, ma'am?" Peter asked, concerned.

She shook her head, wiping her tears. "Uh-yeah, I-I think so," she stammered, her breathing still shaky. "He-he wouldn't stop," she whimpered, eyes wide.

Peter's stomach twisted into a knot, "I know," he whispered back.

The man, who'd been swearing under his breath as he nursed his leg, began to stand. "She was asking for it," he spat, looking between the two. "Showing off her legs in those shorts," he said, leering at the woman. Peter moved in front of her, "go to the police station. It's three blocks down, and tell them to send an officer here," he said softly. She nodded and whispered a quick thank you before running off. Peter turned back to the man, who grinned, "You're telling me you wouldn't want some of that?" he asked, jerking his head at the woman, who was rounding the corner. Peter's fingers curled into fists. "C'mon Einstein, even you know she was hot."

Suddenly, a white hot rage filled Peter, and he sprinted towards the man, hand pulled back as he landed a punch to the man's gut. He stumbled back, the air knocked out of him, but Peter, ignoring his usual MO of webbing bad guys up, advanced, landing another blow, this time to the man's face, breaking his nose.

"AH!" the man groaned, clutching his face, rivulets of blood spilling from his fingers. "What the fuck!" Peter ignored him and continued to punch the man, landing a blow for every word. "She-told-you-to-stop!" Peter grunted, as he held the man by the scruff of his shirt. The man's face was a bloodied mess, his head lolling back. Peter's rage evaporated just as quickly as it had come, as he stared at the mess he'd made, horrified.

He opened and closed his mouth several times, before finally speaking, his voice raspy. "KAREN, scan for vitals," he whispered.

"He's alive, but unconscious," KAREN replied. "Boss would like to see you," she added, referring to Tony.

"I thought he was asleep," Peter replied, his voice still a whisper.

"He was alerted by your watch. Your heart rate spiked quickly, and your breathing was rapid. All are evidence of a panic attack," KAREN responded.

Peter nodded, and slowly released his hold on the man's shirt, before webbing him up. He could hear the footsteps of two officers as they headed down the alley. "Assault?" one of them asked. Peter nodded to the pair, before shooting a web and swinging towards the tower. As he approached the upper floors, he spotted the lights in the family room flickering on.

Sighing, he swung through the window, landing in a crouch. He stood slowly, and turned, spotting Tony, who was quickly rising off of the sofa, and heading towards Peter. "Pete, are you okay?" he asked, worried. "KAREN alerted FRIDAY. Your vitals were spiked. What happened?" he asked, looking at Peter, who just stayed frozen. "Pete?" Tony asked softly, his voice finally hitting Peter and bringing him back to the present.

"Huh," Peter muttered, stumbling slightly. Tony's hands shot out, grabbing Peter's forearms, steadying him.

Tony looked down at the gloves of the suit. Peter's knuckles were showing through the spandex, covered in blood. "What happened, kid?" Tony asked softly, guiding Peter to the nearest sofa.

Peter shook his head, unable to respond. Tony nodded, understanding and slowly peeled the mask off of Peter's face, his hand holding Peter's chin as he peered into the kid's dilated eyes.

"FRIDAY?" Tony asked, the AI already beginning her scan.

"Mr. Parker shows no signs of intoxication. He is still recovering from his earlier panic attack. His dilated eyes and slow heart rate indicates that he is currently disassociating," FRIDAY replied helpfully.

Tony quickly got up and grabbed a dish towel and filled a bowl with water, grabbing a bottle of antiseptic from the medicine cabinet before heading back to Peter. He sat on the table in front of the kid, and gently peeled off the Spider-Man gloves, resting them on the sofa as he began to tend to Peter's hands. He hoped the sting of the antiseptic would help bring Peter back, but the kid still looked just as out of it as he did when he arrived.

He decided to forgo bandages, as Peter would be able to heal better without them. He quickly disposed of the rag and bowl, placing the antiseptic back in the cabinet before coming to sit next to Peter. "Peter? Can you hear me?" Tony asked softly, placing his hand in Peters'. "Just squeeze my hand if you can hear me." He waited a moment, before Peter's hand tightened in his. Tony gave him an encouraging smile. "Can you tell me five things you can see, Pete?"

It was silent for a couple minutes before Peter spoke, his voice hoarse. "Table, Wall, Carpet. TV. You."

Tony nodded, "three things you can hear?" he asked.

"Traffic. Dishwasher. You."

"Two things you can smell?" Tony probed.

"Antiseptic. You," Peter whispered. His eyes closed and suddenly he began to shake violently as he rocked back and forth. " _Oh god, oh god, what did I do_?" he whimpered, his voice pulling at Tony's heartstrings. A few tears crept down Peter's face as he looked up at his mentor, like he was seeing him for the first time. " _Mr. Stark, I almost killed him."_

Tony's brow was furrowed, "What do you mean? What happened, Pete?" he asked.

Peter shivered slightly, and suddenly felt a large blanket being wrapped around him. He nodded gratefully and curled in on himself. "I just - I," Peter stammered, cursing at himself. _Why can't you fucking speak?_ he thought viciously. "I just got _so angry,_ " he whispered, eyes wide as they locked on to Tony's.

"It's okay, it happens," Tony replied, trying to comfort Peter who, despite the blanket, was still shivering.

"It's just - he was hurting her," Peter said, looking down at his lap. "She was telling him to stop, but he wouldn't," he continued. "He said - he said she asked for it," Peter whispered, his voice shaking and hands tightening.

Tony sighed, unsure of what to say. "I'm sorry Peter," he said.

Peter's eyes shot up, locking onto Tony's, who looked worried as Peter's eyes dilated a little. "Why are you sorry?" he asked, an undercurrent of anger in his tone. Peter shrugged the blanket off, but he was still shaking - this time with anger. "I'm fine," he spat, getting up and walking away, hands curling at his sides. "She's the one who got assaulted. Fuck, she almost got raped. And that piece of shit said she was asking for it?!" He yelled. Tony, who'd gotten up to follow the kid, stepped back slightly, his hands raised in an unthreatening gesture.

"Peter," he said, placatingly.

Peter whipped back around. "I hit him," Peter said, sounding indifferent about it, even though he sounded close to tears a moment ago. "I hit him again, and again and again. 'Cause he deserved it. No one asks for that, Mr. Stark. _No one."_

"Peter," Tony repeated, looking slightly scared of the teen in front of him. "You almost killed him."

"It's no more than he deserves," Peter said savagely.

"Peter. He deserves to go to prison," Tony replied, trying to sound as calm as he could.

"Prison?" Peter scoffed. "Yeah, right," he said, rolling his eyes. "Did you know every 90 seconds someone is sexually assaulted? Did you know every nine minutes, that person is a child? Did you know less than .5% of reported sexual assaults lead to a conviction _and_ incarceration? Did you know that, Mr. Stark?" he asked, his voice falling to a whisper.

Tony shook his head. "No, Pete. I didn't know that," he replied softly.

Peter jerked his head slightly. "That's good. It's good you don't know," he said, sounding more calm as he collapsed onto the sofa. He was quiet for a moment before speaking, "Mr Stark?"

"Yeah, Pete?" he replied, sitting down next to the kid.

"Do you ever wanna ... just stop?" he asked, looking at the man.

"Stop?" Tony asked, confused.

"Being Iron Man?" Peter whispered, like it was the worst thing he could say. "Sometimes it just... it all gets a bit too much," he continued.

"I know kid," Tony said, placing a hand on Peter's shoulder.

"No, no, no, that's just it. You don't" Peter replied. "You're an Avenger. You deal with the big things. But I'm... I'm the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man, y'know? And it's great looking out for the little guy, but it's hard when the neighbourhood isn't friendly. Like every night someone's getting stabbed, or mugged, or raped and it's just - every night?" Peter's voice wavered.

"You see a lot when you're closer to the ground," Tony supplied, and Peter nodded. He paused, "I'm proud of you Peter, you know that?" Tony said, looking down at the kid.

"Why?" Peter asked. "I just told you I feel like quitting being Spider-Man. Why are you proud of that?"

"Because you haven't quit," Tony replied, sounding obvious. "Yeah, you think about it. But every night you're out there. And you help people. And yeah, you can't help everyone, but someone really smart once told me that you don't owe these people anything. But you risk your life everyday, for people you don't know, and you ask for nothing in return," Tony continued. "And that's what makes you a hero, Peter. You help people everyday, kid, and you help people in a way that the Avengers never could."

Peter was silent for a long while, before getting up and mumbling something about a shower. He headed off to his room, leaving Tony to his thoughts. Tony was silent for a while, before barking an order at FRIDAY. "FRI, pull up the video feed from Peter's suit. Fast-forward to his last altercation," he said. FRIDAY complied, and soon presented Tony with the video, which he watched with interest. He watched Peter hear the woman's scream and head to the alley, landing a kick on the man and telling the woman to head to the police precinct. He turned back to the suspect and instead of webbing him up, Peter stared him down. The man said some vulgar stuff, but it was one thing in particular that triggered Peter. "C'mon _Einstein_ , even you know she was hot," the man leered. Tony watched as Peter's vitals spiked and he began to attack the man, reducing his face to a pulp, before his heart rate dropped suddenly. That was when Tony had responded to the alert from Peter's suit. "Einstein?" Tony murmured.

"What did you say?" Peter's voice echoed loudly through the room. Tony turned around and spotted Peter standing behind him, his eyes trained on the video feed in front of him. The blood was drained from his face and his entire body was tense, hands opening and closing reflexively at his sides.

Tony looked back at the monitor. "Something this sicko said triggered you. He called you Eins-" Tony began, but was silenced by a glare from Peter.

"Don't. Just, please don't" Peter said, holding a hand out to stop Tony.

Tony looked confused, "I don't understand Peter, what's the problem?" he probed, demonstrating Tony's fatal flaw - his undying persistence.

Peter inhaled sharply. "It's nothing."

"Doesn't seem like nothing," Tony muttered.

"STOP," Peter ordered, his voice jolting Tony, who looked at the kid with wide eyes. Peter instantly felt bad for scaring his mentor. "It's just ... don't. Please," Peter said, his voice cracking with emotion.

Tony nodded, "Okay, okay. I won't," he said, calming the teen down enough for him to sit down on the sofa next to him. He waited a moment before speaking again, "I just ... I gotta ask kid. What happened out there?"

"Something that won't happen again," Peter retorted. He noticed the inquisitive look on Tony's face, and sighed. "It's nothing, really."

"I call bullshit, kid," Tony replied, staring the kid down until Peter conceded.

"I had a friend once, and" Peter paused, his throat closing slightly as he allowed himself to remember. "He used to call me Einstein."

Tony considered this, "So it was a nickname?" he asked.

Peter nodded his head, "I guess... I just...I don't like talking about him."

"Why?" Tony asked.

Peter shrugged in response.

"You gotta give me something kid," Tony pressed.

"I just don't like it," Peter replied.

Tony raised an eyebrow, "really kid?"

"God! What do you want me to say? I just, I don't wanna talk about Skip," Peter shot back.

"So your friend's name was Skip," Tony surmised.

"He's not my friend," Peter said venomously, taking Tony aback.

"Woah, kid. What did he do to incur the wrath of Peter Parker?" Tony joked.

"Sometimes you trust people that you shouldn't have," Peter whispered.

Tony nodded, "I get that."

"No you don't," Peter replied, "He wasn't a nice guy."

"Kid you're gonna have to be a little more clear," Tony said.

Peter sighed, placing his hands in his head. "Look. I trusted him, and he - he broke that trust - in the worst way." Tony looked blank, and Peter shivered slightly, "You're never gonna stop asking me, are you?" he whispered.

Tony shrugged, "You went apeshit on a guy today. Forgive me for being concerned for you kiddo. I haven't seen a panic attack that bad since I used to get mine."

Peter nodded, remembering when Tony had told him about the aftermath of the Mandarin attack. If Tony could trust him with that, then maybe he could trust him with this. "Skip Westcott," Peter said and Tony nodded. "He was my friend. Or, at least, I thought he was. I thought he was cool 'cause he was older and he wanted to be my friend. May and Ben were happy 'cause I never had a friend before. Sometimes, Skip would babysit me, and we'd play games and stuff. I trusted him and that- that was my first mistake. We were at his house, and we were alone..." Peter trailed off.

Tony's blood ran cold, as he stared at the kid. And suddenly, it all made sense. Why the kid got triggered by the events in the alleyway. When the guy said all those things. Why Peter knew what he knew about sexual assault stats. He stared at Peter, "did he-?"

Peter noticed the look of dawning comprehension on Tony's face. "Yeah," he said softly, fiddling with the hem of his hoodie. "He, uh, yeah."

"How old-" Tony began, unsure of whether Peter would take kindly to answering questions.

"I was 8 at the time," Peter said. "He was 17."

"How long?" Tony asked.

"Around a month. Maybe longer?" Peter said, sighing. "It's not something I, y'know, dwell on."

Tony nodded. "Did you tell anyone?"

Peter nodded. "It took me a while, but I told May and Ben. They took me to the police, and they did the whole report and stuff. He got charged. Went to court, and he got three years."

"That asshole only got three years?" Tony cried, his blood boiling. He had half a mind to summon a suit and hunt the motherfucker down.

"That's the American Justice System for you," Peter replied dully. "He's still in. For armed robbery," Peter added, looking at Tony. "It was one of the first things I checked when I got my powers."

Tony nodded, "not an unprecedented reaction." He paused, placing a hand on Peter's shoulder and smiling internally when the kid leaned into him. "I'm so sorry, Pete."

"It's not your fault," Peter replied.

"But - you see this stuff daily ... and you ... how do you do this?" Tony faltered, unsure of what to say.

Peter smiled. "I remember that it sucked in the beginning, but I got better. I had Ben. I have May. You," Peter said, nodding to the man.

Tony shook his head, "I wasn't there to help you kid," Tony said. _My biggest regret._

This time, Peter shook his head, "No. You were there. You're the one that helped me tell Ben and May." This time, Tony was confused, and Peter continued. "When you came back from Afghanistan and then said you were Iron Man, I realized that you saved yourself. You were your own hero, and - I needed to be mine. So, in a way, you saved me."

Tony smiled, and placed a hand on Peter's head, raking through his curls. "You're a good kid, Peter."

Tony expected some self-deprecating Gen Z response. Instead, Peter grinned, "thanks Mr. Stark" he replied, closing his eyes.


	10. The One With the Q & A

**This is a mix of a request I got asking for Tony and Peter to do like a Wired interview or something.**

 **Peter is a Gen Z-er, so he knows a thing or two about Youtube, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok. Tony, despite being the head of a tech company, has no social media whatsoever. Naturally, Peter tries to introduce Tony to the world of social media and vines and needless to say, hilarity ensues.**

 **This is actually pretty funny and some of the issues are taken from interactions with my friends when they're explaining shit to me. I don't have any social media (ex. Snapchat and Tumblr), so this is like, hilarious to me.**

* * *

Peter and Tony were hanging out at the compound like they usually did every weekend during the summer break. They would often take it in turns to choose what they'd watch that evening while eating whatever they'd cooked. Tony had been trying to teach Peter basic cooking skills before he went off to college, knowing well that May was not the most gifted chef. And while Tony loved cooking with Peter (he loved spending time with the kid in general - but he'd never admit it), Peter was not the most patient when it came to the art of cooking.

"How do we know if it's done?" Peter asked, staring at the bubbling pot on the stove. He prodded one of the sweet potatoes with the spoon, trying not to inhale the pepper.

"Are the potatoes I told you not to smush still hard?" Tony asked in a bored voice as he responded to some emails on his phone.

Peter rolled his eyes, "Yes." Tony was a good cook (scratch that, Peter thought he was fantastic), but sometimes the man would channel his inner Gordon Ramsey, especially when Peter hadn't finished prepping the food or forgotten to pre-measure the ingredients. As far as Peter was concerned, Tony could take his _mise en place_ and shove it up his ass.

"Then it's not done. You want them to me soft, but not mushy," Tony replied, pushing himself off of the counter he was resting against and coming to a stop next to Peter, peering into the pot. He took the spoon from Peter and pressed the potato lightly against the side of the pot. "Nearly there," he murmured, stirring it before heading to the fridge to grab some water.

"What's this one called again?" Peter asked, pointing to the bubbling contents inside.

Tony smirked, "Pepper pot."

"Wait - Ms. Potts has a food named after her?" Peter questioned, as he began to set out some dish-wear on the counter, while Tony went back to monitor the food.

Tony grimaced, "other way around, Pete. God, you don't know much about food."

Peter blushed, "Well, I mean, you've met May. Not much she can teach me. The bulk of my knowledge comes from Home Ec. and basic chemistry." Tony stared, "you told me cooking is just chemistry we can eat. I took it seriously," Peter added as Tony sighed. Internally, he marvelled at the kid's brain. _He must be eidetic, photographic, autodidactic, something_ he thought.

"I'm not even surprised. I remember the days when you thought Del Taco was fine dining." Tony said, causing Peter to laugh.

"Get to Del Taco they got a new thing called free-sha-voc-a-do," Peter sang, forcing Tony to roll his eyes and mutter "children," under his breath.

"The elderly," Peter whispered back, earning himself a swat on the back of the head, as Tony sauntered over to the television. "Your turn to pick, kid - and it better be something good."

Peter smirked, "I find your lack of faith disturbing." Tony eyed the boy as he poured their food, grabbed the tray and set it down on the table in front of the sofa. "FRI, play "vines that keep me from ending it all" please," he commanded as he passed Tony his bowl.

"What the hell, Pete?" Tony said, "Do we need to have another conversation about your inappropriate sense of humour?" he asked. "You know Jeff is still worried about you," Tony added, recalling the incident that had taken place a while back when Tony had sicced Peter on a bio-med project with the head of SI's medical technology department.

"His name is John, and he's just got a stick up his butt," Peter replied saltily, as he stirred his soup.

"Playing now," FRIDAY's voice echoed.

Tony watched with mild horror as a slew of six-second videos without any form of context began to play. The first was of Gov. Chris Christie talking about off-topic questions. The second was a video of two men "chillin in a hot tub, five feet apart 'cause they're not gay.'" Peter sang along with that one. Actually, scratch that, the kid sang along with every single one, like they were some sort of song. Another man screamed as he went through packs of batteries (something Tony found to be both hilarious and cathartic). The next one had the X-Files theme playing, while a man in a skin-tight green alien suit walked on a treadmill before turning and hitting the wall, landing on his ass. "Is that how Thor gets to Earth?" Peter quipped, causing Tony to snort in his water. Another video appeared, with three men in a car, one holding several balloons, apparently filled with helium. "Are they helium balloons? What did I say? The car is not equipped for helium balloons. Aww fuck, its too late, we're flyin' away!" Peter said, his Scottish accent perfecting melding in with the men on the television. "Years of practice," Peter said, noticing Tony's look.

They continued to watch, Tony beginning to laugh quietly at the sheer stupidity and effort people went to to create these snippets. It wasn't until they watched a man in a yellow vest and glasses say "Put that candy back, I'm not buyin' you all that mess," before being clocked in the head witha box of sweets by the person holding the camera. The man put his hands on his hips and leant forward, "try me bitch." Peter laughed, "Don't tell him, but that reminds me of Happy."

Tony spat out his water and began to cough, Peter thumping his back. Tears leaked out of the older man's eyes as he laughed. "Fuck, I see it," he said, as Peter nodded and said "right?"

Another video was supposed to mimic the opening to Perfect Strangers, except it was titled "Completely Giving Up," starring the same guy in a denim jacket and long hair nodding at the camera as the intro credits rolled. "Mood," Tony said, staring at Peter to gauge his reaction.

"Facts," Peter replied, and noticed Tony's head tilt questioningly.

Another video appeared of a young boy whipping around what appeared to be a green stick with a pointer finger on it as another kid backed away and out of the frame. "Don't fuck with me," he yelled, dropping into a fighting stance. "I have the power of God and anime on my side, AHHHH!"

Tony nodded, "Thor."

Peter laughed, before nodding back to the TV, "you'll like this one."

Tony turned back to the TV in time to spot a kid with glasses speaking in a deep voice. "How did you take down Captain America?" The frame cut to the same kid, this time speaking in a German accent. "Ve shot him in 'ze legs, because his shield is the size of a dinner plate and he is an idiot."

Tony stared at the TV for a moment before bursting out into laughter. "I can't, I can't," he wheezed, as Peter's cheeks grew red from smiling at the sight of Tony enjoying himself. "Is that how you got the idea to go-"

"-for his legs in Berlin?" Peter interjected, finishing Tony's question. "Yes," he answered, causing Tony to laugh even more.

A few more minutes went by and suddenly the video was over, much to Tony's disguised disappointment - he'd quite begun to like those. Peter noticed this, "Mr. Stark, have you never seen any of these vines before?"

Tony shook his head, "Sorry, I was too busy running a company and saving the world."

Peter considered this, "you should make yourself more present on social media. I think it would help with the company and all that. Not to mention, it would let people see a side of you they never really get to see."

"Oh really? And which side is that," Tony asked sarcastically.

"The Tony Stark side you only reserve for people like Pepper and Uncle Rhodey," Peter said, noticing how the corner of Tony's lips twitched upwards when he said "Uncle Rhodey."

Tony nodded, considering the kid's proposal. "Y'know what? Next time I see her, I'll run it by Pep. She usually handles that kid of PR stuff, and I don't think she'd be pleased with me making a Facebook account without her permission."

"Mr. Stark, no one uses Facebook," Peter replied. "It's more about Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Youtube. Places where you can interact with your fans."

Tony raised an eyebrow at this, "You have a relatively large fanbase as Spider-Man. I don't see you out there, tweeting about it and interacting with people."

Peter turned red. "It's not that I haven't thought about it," he admitted. "I've taken the odd photo when I'm on patrol. I mean, the angles and the beauty of the skyline at certain times, it's really neat. I just can't post them without people knowing who I am. And even if I used a different insta account, it could get traced back to me," Peter explained. "Ned and I were working on it for a while, but the firewall he created still wouldn't protect it from more experienced hackers."

Tony nodded, "you've given this a fair bit of thought huh?" he asked, and Peter nodded. Tony was quiet for a moment, before nodding back to the TV, "okay, what do you wanna watch?"

Peter looked pensive for a moment before smiling, "FRIDAY, play High School Musical" he spared a glance at Tony, who shrugged.

"What's that?' he asked.

Peter's eyes widened, "YOU'VE NEVER WATCHED HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL?" he cried.

Tony rolled his eyes, "ask louder, perhaps my answer will have changed," he replied sarcastically.

Peter rolled his eyes, "Oh, you're gonna love this," he said, turning back to the TV, where the film began to play.

Tony watched with mild horror and delight as Peter sang along with the two teens on the screen. "How many times have you seen this film?" Tony asked.

"This is musical perfection," Peter whispered, as Tony's eyes widened.

"You take that back!" he whisper-shouted.

* * *

The next time Peter was at the Tower, Pepper dropped by, asking him to meet her in her office. At the time, Peter was working with the medical division, who were quite surprised that he was on a first name basis with the CEO of the company. He nodded and quickly followed him out and to the office, surpised to see Tony spinning around in Pepper's chair.

"What- Tony?" Pepper cried, shooing him out of the seat. He walked over, taking a seat next to Peter on the opposite side.

"Amazing! The chair's completely remolded itself," Tony exclaimed. "It's like my ass was never there."

Pepper rolled her eyes, "that's because it never was. You were always in the labs." She turned to Peter, "Tony was telling me that you two were talking about his lack of social media-" Peter's eyes widened, unsure of whether was mad or not. The woman, perceptive as always, noticed the kid's reaction and quickly said: "I think it's a great idea. And I think you should help run it."

Peter's eyes were about to pop out of his sockets. "What? You-you want me to run it?" he asked, looking between the pair. Tony placed a hand on his shoulder, "I dunno. I'm not exactly the best at this kind of stuff."

Pepper shook her head, "I think you'll be great. The target area is people in and around your age group, and you seem to know what they like. You wouldn't be in charge of positing or anything like that, per se. You'd just monitor Tony's tweets and posts, and if you think they need to be changed or there's something he needs to talk about, then you can advise him on that. You're like, his editor, I guess." She paused, "We were also thinking of making one for Spider-Man as well. Tony was telling me that you've got some pretty good shots, so we were thinking of launching them around the same time, so it'll divert attention from the Spider-Man accounts. What do you think?"

Peter was dumbstruck. "That sounds fantastic, Ms. Potts, thank you. But, the issue with the Spider-Man account is that it could get traced back to me."

Pepper pursed her lips, and turned to Tony. "We have a solution for that, kid," Tony replied. "I've been working on it for a couple days and I've managed to create a pretty solid firewall to protect your information. The accounts are going to be managed using a secure server, which can only be accessed through my personal server - which has the best and most secure AI ever. You'd be posting to those accounts from a separate phone, which has all of its GPS systems removed," he explained.

Peter nodded. "Okay. Count me in," he said with a grin.

* * *

It took a couple tries for Peter to get a hang on the personalized Starkphone he'd be using to post tweets and instas as Spider-Man. In the meantime, he was trying to help Tony run his own accounts on twitter and insta. The first picture posted to the account was of Tony working on the Iron Man suit. Peter had taken the photo a while back, and it was one of his favourites because it was so genuine. Tony was working on rewiring the suit to account for the new nanotech he was working on, and didn't notice Peter snapping the photo.

"Should I put a comment or something?" Tony asked, staring at his phone as if instagram was a complex mathematical equation in dire need of solving - which, sometimes, it was.

Peter stared at the photo, "Yeah, you could write like 'Iron Man works hard, but I work harder.' Sort of like a tongue in cheek way to make fun of the whole Kris Jenner thing." Tony gave the kid a blank look, and Peter rolled his eyes, pulling up several photos of the iconic 'The devil works hard, but Kris Jenner works harder" meme. "Oh," Tony said, scrolling through them, "I get it." He tapped away at the phone, before showing Peter, who nodded.

Ten minutes later, Tony Stark was the highest followed person on Instagram. Peter let out a low whistle, "damn."

On his own phone, he opened up his Spider-Man instagram and posted his first picture - the NY skyline at dusk, with Peter's silhouette - dressed as Spider-Man - falling backwards in the sky. Tony leant over and looked at the photo, "how'd you take that?" he asked, admiring it.

Peter blushed, "I webbed up the camera on a building and did it. Took several tries, but it came out nice, right?" he asked.

Tony nodded, "It's incredible, Pete. Very artistic."

Peter grinned, before pulling out his personal phone and following both Spider-Man and Mr. Stark on instagram. "Aren't you going to comment on my photo?' he asked. Tony nodded, "once I know what to comment I will."

Peter was in the car on his way home when the Spider-Man phone beeped. He opened up instagram and noticed that Tony was following him and had left a comment. He looked down and had to bite back a laugh.

 _"You're doing amazing sweetie"_

The comment had over 100k likes.

Peter grabbed his personal phone and messaged Tony, _Really? Another KJ quote? People are gonna think you're obsessed._

A moment later, Tony messaged back. _What can I say? She's got some good quotes._

His phone buzzed again, and Peter got another alert from Instagram. Tony was following him. He opened up Tony's insta page and stared at the Following number. He was only following three people: Stark Industries, Spider-Man, and Peter Parker.

 _Well, fuck._

* * *

After two weeks it became apparent that Pepper's plan to have Tony's instagram and twitter debut overshadow Spider-Man's didn't work. In fact, many people were calling for a collaboration between them. Several outlets such as Hot Ones, Wired and GQ asked to do Q&As with the pair, but all were turned down, purely for safety reasons. Instead, the pair decided to make a Q&A for SI's youtube channel debut.

Once Tony and double and triple checked the voice-modifier in Peter's suit, the pair began to shoot, each holding a bucket of questions as they sat facing the camera. "3, 2, 1 and go!" Peter said, counting down before hitting record. He was going to be in charge of all the editing and whatnot, just to really ensure that his identity remained secret.

"Hey everyone, I'm Spider-Man," Peter said, waving cheerfully at the camera.

"And I am Tony Stark, and sometimes Iron Man," Tony said, looking at the camera and giving it his usual TV-smile. "So, Spider-Man, what are we doing today?"

"Good question, Mr. Stark. We are doing a Q&A. In my hand, I have a bucket of questions people have sent to you over Twitter and Instagram, and you have questions from the internet for me. We'll be taking it in turns to answer them until we get tired, or the questions get too weird - whichever comes first. Sound good?"

Tony nodded, before adding, "And before we begin, I want to say that all questions that could potentially lead to Spider-Man's identity being released have been removed."

"And on that note, let's begin," Peter nodded, as he grabbed a question out of his bag. "How did you and Spider-Man meet?" Peter asked, grinning as he remembered the day.

Tony smirked as he began, "I met Spider-Man in the middle of the whole Accords thing. Actually, I'd been keeping tabs on him for a while, and eventually I decided I needed to meet the guy," he finished, nodding to Peter, who's head snapped back, like he was confused.

"You needed my help," Peter interrupted and Tony rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, that was a part of it," Tony said offhandedly, looking at the camera.

"That was all of it," Peter replied knowingly as Tony shrugged and mouthed, "all right."

Tony grabbed a question from his bucket, "What superpowers does Spider-Man have?" Tony nodded at Peter, a subliminal way to let him know it was safe to answer the question.

"Excellent question. My powers include super strength and speed healing. I'm also pretty flexible as well, which helps when I'm webbing around the city. And I have really good reflexes as well, which help when I'm fighting crime."

"He's also very good at annoying the shit out of me," Tony added. The eyes of the Spider-Man costume squinted, mimicking Peter's facial expressions underneath.

"I came out to have a good time, and I'm honestly feeling really so attacked right now," Peter said, sounding as hurt as he possibly could.

Tony groaned, "is this another one of those internet things?" he asked, placing a forefinger to the space between his brows and closing his eyes while Peter laughed and picked out a new question for Tony.

"What is Tony Stark's greatest fear? Ohh, good question," Peter said, looking over at Tony, who stared into the camera.

"Pepper Potts," he deadpanned, and Peter flicked the paper with the question on it at Tony.

"Booo, that's your wife," Peter replied. "Put some respeck 'pon her name."

Tony ignored him and picked a new question for Peter. "Who is Spider-Man's favourite musician?" he asked, smiling as he already knew the answer.

"Panic! at the Disco. Brendan Urie is an icon," Peter replied with all seriousness. Tony raised an eyebrow, "C'mon, even you have to admit you like them too," Peter argued.

"I mean, they're pretty good considering the rest of the music your generation listens to," Tony conceded. He turned to the camera, "He once played trap music in the lab. I couldn't look at him the same after that."

Peter cocked his head, eyes widening as he remembered why. "Hey - that was one time!" he cried, causing Tony to laugh. "And it was a different circumstance," he grumbled as an afterthought as he dug around in his bucket. "Would you rather be Iron Man forever and give up Pepper, or give up Iron Man to be with Pepper? Ohhh, an ultimatum has been thrust upon you!" Peter said, imitating a mysterious voice. 

"Give up Iron Man. No question," Tony said immediately.

Peter's eyes widened in shock, the effect making Tony laugh as the mask's eyes mimicked it. "Damn. Without question?" he asked.

"Without question," Tony restated simply.

Peter let out a low whistle. "God, you're so lucky you have Pepper."

Tony squinted, "don't you mean she's lucky to have me?" he asked.

"She called you a fungus yesterday," Peter deadpanned.

"So I'm a lucky fungus," Tony grinned.

"There's no version of this that will make you sound good Mr. Stark," Peter replied, wiping the smirk off Tony's face as he picked a new question.

"Fucking kids," Tony grumbled as he unfurled the next question. "What is Spider-Man's biggest fear?" Tony looked up at the kid, expecting him to say "death" or some other deep and depressing fear.

"Spiders," Peter replied, as Tony tried to muffle his laughter.

"Spider-Man is scared of spiders?" Tony asked, earning a glare from Peter.

"Hey, I have a founded fear of those bitches. They have too many legs, too many eyes and they have those pincers," here Peter raised his thumbs and forefingers to his mouth and mimicked them.

"You're a fucking delight," Tony smiled. He could tell Peter was blushing at the comment based on how he shrugged inwards. "But seriously, biggest fear?"

Peter shook his head, "Well, Spiders are up there. But I'd have to say ... being abandoned or, like, left alone. That's probably the biggest one. Paralyzing actually, now that I think about it." Tony nodded, understanding exactly how found that specific fear was to Peter, watching as the kid pulled out another question. "Why does Tony Stark shave his beard weird?" Peter raised an eyebrow as he looked up at his mentor.

Tony scratched his beard thoughtfully. "I don't really know. It's just, the way I shave it? Never put much thought into it really," he answered honestly.

Peter nodded, "So it's not like there's a hidden formula to yet another element in your beard? Like it's not easter egg for the Iron Man suits or something?"

Tony cocked an eyebrow, "I've been shaving my beard like this long before Iron Man, kiddo. And there's no hidden formula or anything in it," he began, before turning to the camera and whipping off his glasses. "Or is there?" he added, before wiping his glasses on his shirt and putting them back on.

"Ahh, the suspense Mr. Stark!" Peter whined, earning a small chuckle from the man as he got the final question for Peter.

"Save the world scenario: Sacrifice Tony Stark, or sacrifice yourself?" he asked with all seriousness.

Peter tensed slightly. "Umm, what the hell kind of question is that? NO, I wouldn't kill him. We need Tony Stark way more than we need Spider-Man guys," Peter replied. "Sacrifice myself, easy."

"Kid, like hell I'd let you do that," Tony yelled. "You kill me, and save yourself."

"Whatever," Peter replied, rolling his eyes. "It's a hypothetical question, Mr. Stark."

Tony ripped his sunglasses off again. "Nuh-uh kid. This is an order. If it ever comes down to it - which I hope it doesn't - you toss me, and save yourself. Got it?" he yelled, eyes slightly watery.

"Oh no, it looks like I've forgotten how to comprehend speech," Peter said, as Tony swatted the kid around the head. "Ouch!"

"Yeah, Ouch" Tony replied, sticking his tongue out at Peter.

"God, Pepper was right. You really are a fungus," Peter mumbled, earning another swat from Tony. "Hey!" Peter yelled again.

"Hey!" Tony mimicked, as they began to quarrel.

Suddenly Pepper stepped into the frame. "Boys, behave!" she hissed, pointing at the camera. "God, Tony, you're the adult here!"

"I thought I was the fungus," Tony replied, cocking an eyebrow as Pepper groaned and walked away.

"Well, I guess that's it from us. Thanks for watching, and remember to subscribe down below. Links to our twitter and instagram are in the description box," Peter said quickly, as Tony stared.

"How long've you been practicing that for?" Tony asked, grinning.

Peter shrugged, "I wanted to be a beauty guru when I was younger," he admitted.

The video closed on Tony's shocked face.


	11. The One Where the Author Returned

DUDES.

FAR FROME HOME?

LIKE WHAT?

OH MY GOD.

SO COOL.

I WON'T SPOIL, 'cause that's bad. But feel free to PM me about it. Or hit me up on Tumblr at Itsy-Bitsy-Spiderling.

Oh, and sorry for the delay in updating. I just finished moving and I had to unpack, build furniture, deal with a bunch of paper-pushing, get internet and TV and get ready for law school. I'm so tired but so nervous. Hopefully, I get time to update (lol, I probably won't). This law school shit is expensive, please pray for my bank account and my sanity.

UPDATE:

So, as you can see, I'm not dead. Law school is HARD, but I love it. However, it made updating really difficult. Fucking Corona is out here and I had to finish my first year of law school in the midst of a goddamn pandemic. I lost my job, which was fucking fantastic (but I found a temp-ish one). Overall, i think i fared quite well. World = 0, Me = 1. HOw is everyone else doing? Safe, I hope! Here's a small piece, but there's more pie to come!

* * *

Peter always complained about his infamous "Parker Luck." It had been his go-to reasoning for everything terrible that had ever happened to him. He got the idea when he was in seventh grade, and the class had read "Holes," where the main character always blamed his great-great-great-grandfather. He was currently spinning around in Tony's lab, running some algorithms for the new Bleeding Edge armor. He'd been fiddling with a rubick's cube Tony had abandoned before heading to Pepper's office to discuss some wedding stuff. Just as Peter finished solving the cube, FRIDAY gave a loud bleep.

"Mr. Parker, the sequence is complete and the nanites have accepted the transfer," she said.

Peter whirled around and stared at the screen, grinning madly. "I'm a fucking genius," Peter said, standing quickly. "Uh, FRIDAY, where's Mr. Stark?"

"He is still in Ms. Potts' office," FRIDAY responded, and Peter sped off, heading towards the office, determined to let Tony know he was right. He hopped out of the elevator and quickly headed to Pepper's office, the door still left open.

"Mr. Stark, Mr. Stark!" he cried, heading into the room. "I have - OH GOD, MY EYES!" Peter screeched, as he happened across the pair, who were making out on top of Pepper's desk. Peter covered his eyes and backed out of the office. "I've gone blind," he said, turning the corner and resting his back against the wall. "Stupid Parker Luck," he muttered, his face growing red.

Tony rolled his eyes as he and Pepper quickly reoriented themselves, fixing their clothes and hair. "Shut up, Pete."

"Tony, go collect Peter," Pepper said, trying not to laugh, as a blush began to creep up her face.

Tony headed out of the office and down the hall, spotting Peter headed towards the elevator. He managed to dive in as the doors closed, heading back up to the lab. "You okay kid?" he asked, trying not to laugh at how red Peter was.

"Just peachy," Peter replied looking everywhere but at his mentor.

"Kid, you never seen people kiss before?" he asked, eyeing Peter warily.

"I go to high school, Mr. Stark. I've seen it all," Peter replied monotonously.

"Exactly. So - I - Wait? What do you mean you've seen it all?" Tony asked, eyeing Peter suspiciously.

Peter groaned, choosing to ignore Tony's question. "It's just weird cause its, y'know, you," Peter replied, staring ahead as the doors opened to the lab. He wandered over to the screen, which was projecting the results of the algorithm. "This is what I wanted to show you," Peter said, turning the screen to Tony, and passing the man his glasses. Tony put them on and peered at the monitor, breaking into a smile.

"This is great!" Tony said, turning to Peter and clapping him on the shoulder. He spotted the rubick's cube, already solved, sitting on a stack of proofs. "You solved it?" he asked, looking to Peter.

"Which one?" Peter asked, pointing to the screen and cube.

"That's enough sass out of you," Tony replied, hands twitching. "Now what am I supposed to fidget with?"

"I'm sure you'll think of something," Peter said, with a knowing look.

Tony raised his eyebrows, slightly shocked at Peter's answer, before breaking into a smile, "not bad, kid."

* * *

Round two of Peter's shitty luck occurred during a stay at the compound. Peter and Rhodey had spent a few hours earlier going through some training exercises to test Rhodey's new and improved braces and their compatibility with the new armour. The newest version held up quite well against Peter's webs, and Rhodey's balance and movement was almost as good as it was before the incident. That evening, he, Peter, Pepper, Tony and Happy were sitting around the table, in their newer version of a family dinner (May was going to drop by the next morning, once she'd finished her shift at the hospital). Rhodey, out of tradition, forced them all to hold hands and say grace before delving into the meal, asking each of them to say something they were thankful for.

"I'm thankful for this food, the company of my family, and the roof over our heads, amen," Rhodey said, eyes closed.

"I'm thankful for my fiance and our good health, amen," Pepper added. Tony squeezed her hand a little tighter.

"I'm thankful for my job, my friends and that Tony finally invested in a pair of headphones so I don't have to listen to Parker's chatter" Happy stated plainly, earning a small smirk from Tony, who opened one of his eyes slightly.

"Ay, ay, no peekin' during grace Tones. You're going up next," Rhodey ordered, his eyes still closed.

"How the hell did you know I was peaking?" Tony cried indignantly, earning a nudge from Pepper.

Rhodey's lip curved upward, "You never could abide by the rules."

Tony grinned, "I'm thankful for ... my fr-family. My family. And my soon-to-be-wife-" here he turned to Pepper, who smiled brightly, and gave her a kiss. Happy grinned at the pair (they were his OTP, okay?), while Peter groaned. Rhodey quickly covered Peter's eyes, and the kid's hands fell limply to the table as he muttered a quick, "thank you Uncle Rhodey."

Tony groaned at that, "How am I still 'Mr. Stark' but he's 'Uncle Rhodey?'" he exclaimed. "Like, c'mon I deserve a 'Tony' once and a while."

"I didn't know you were taking up theatre, but then again you've always been one for the dramatics," Rhodey replied quickly, causing Pepper, Happy and Peter to laugh.

Tony stared at Peter and Rhodey, "I'm not updating your suits next time."

"Fine. You're not invited to my birthday party," Peter argued, as Rhodey rested an arm on his shoulder and nodded to Tony.

"Oh god, he's becoming more and more like you," Happy groaned. "The world does not need another 'Tony Stark'."

"Yeah, the one we have is pretty great" Peter remarked, earning a smile from Pepper.

"He is, isn't he?" she said, leaning in to give him another kiss.

"Really? In front of my salad?" Peter whispered, a horrified look on his face as Rhodey burst into laughter.


	12. The One With the Talk

**So, I always read these really funny fics where Tony attempts to give Peter "the Talk" and I find them hilarious. So this is my take on that trope!**

* * *

Tony hadn't met MJ yet. Peter wanted to wait until it was _just_ the right time to introduce the pair. For now, Tony and the rest of the gang had to live off of the limited information being passed through to them via Peter and - occasionally - Ned. Tony was perfectly content letting the kid drone on and on about his "love life," and often found himself being one of the people Peter could turn to when he needed advice on where to take MJ out, or what to wear, or what kinds of gifts to give.

"So whatever you do, do NOT get her a giant stuffed bunny. Apparently women hate that," Tony concluded, as they worked on one of his cars. Peter nodded as he passed him a socket wrench, unsure of exactly why Tony thought a stuffed rabbit the size of Godzilla would be a good gift to give the CEO of a multibillion dollar company.

"Noted," Peter replied. "Oh, and I've plugged the suit in to the computer, so all the logs should be cleared off to make room for the new updates," he added. Tony nodded, and the pair continued working in silence, the only noise coming from the speakers, which played the entirety of the pair's joint playlist.

That evening, Tony did what he usually did when he was alone and unable to sleep - watched Peter's logs. Whenever the kid went out in the suit, it would record everything in case they ever needed to footage. It also helped Tony when he knew the kid was hiding injuries. As he watched the videos, he noticed areas during the middle of Peter's patrols, where the videos would end and quickly start again an hour or so later. Tony's furrowed his brow as he clicked away, attempting to understand what had gone on during these moments of missing footage. "KAREN, where was Peter between 12:29 and 1:50 on June 3rd?"

KAREN quickly pulled up a set of coordinates on the GPS.

"And 11:03 to 11:57 on June 4th?" he asked again.

The same pin blinked again.

"What the hell is located there?" Tony asked aloud.

"It appears to be an apartment complex," FRIDAY responded helpfully.

"Who the hell is he visiting in the middle of his patrols?" Tony marvelled. He quickly found the apartment complex's address and a couple minutes of hacking later, he'd managed to get the names of every single resident. He scanned the list, before stopping abruptly. "Jones... like Michelle Jones?" he murmured. He turned back to the screen and quickly found Midtown's directory and a couple of taps later, he had the entire school's directory. He quickly found MJ's listed address, matching it to the one KAREN had given him.

It was at that moment Rhodey walked into the room with a "whatcha up to now?" He paused and peered at the paper and screens from over Tony's shoulder.

Tony smirked, "Kid's been popping into see his girlfriend while he's on patrol."

Rhodey laughed as he took the paper Tony offered him, before narrowing his eyes slightly. "Did you look at the time stamps?" he asked.

Tony nodded, "yeah. It doesn't make sense. He sees her for eight hours a day at school. And then he wants to see her again later on? Why?"

Rhodey raised an eyebrow, "look at the time," he said, passing the paper back to him and pointing at the stamps down the list. "He goes at the middle night, and he's there for at least an hour..." he waved his hands and looked to Tony, who's face was still blank. Rolling his eyes, he continued. "He's a teenager, Tones. What do you think they're doing at that time?" he added, attempting to get the gears turning.

Tony was quiet for a moment, before tossing the paper onto his desk with a loud noise of disgust. "But he's a child!" he cried, reaching for the hand sanitizer placed precariously on the edge of the table.

Rhodey placed a hand on Tony's shoulder. "What were _we_ doing at that age, Tones? He might be a kid to us, but that's not gonna stop him. He's grown."

Tony was silent for a moment, as he remembered something Peter once told him after he'd pestered Tony for hours on end on how to impress MJ. "I don't have anyone else to talk to about this kinda stuff. I mean, I had Ben, but I can't really go to him for advice y'know?" the kid's voice echoed in his head.

"Do you think he knows about ..." Tony trailed off, gesticulating madly.

"I guess you gotta give your son the talk now, huh?" Rhodey replied, laughing.

Tony rolled his eyes, "He's not my son," he replied, but he made a mental note to bring it up the next time the kid came to the compound.

"Mhm, whatever you say," Rhodey replied, patting his friend on the back.

* * *

A few days later, Peter had come to the Compound for training. His and Tony's routine usually ended with the pair of them watching Netflix until Pepper and Rhodey came home so they could all have dinner together. That day, they were watching the Fresh Prince. The episodes went along, one after the next, when suddenly Will and Uncle Phil began to talk about "cars" (an innuendo for sex).

Peter laughed as Uncle Phil and Will nodded to one another with a "good talk," before heading off into opposite directions. Tony paused the TV, "kid... uh this reminds me... uh... there's something I wanted to ask you."

Peter nodded, eyes squinted slightly. "Yeah?"

"I was going through your logs and I found a couple instances where you were out of the suit for an hour or so. So I checked where you were using the GPS and it said that you were at Michelles."

"You were stalking me? Does privacy mean nothing to you? I mean, I know your my mentor but you don't have to go full helicopter parent on me" Peter stated.

Tony rolled his eyes, "okay, first of all, I am way to cool to be a basic helicopter parent. I'm more like an iron parent. An iron father, if you will. Second of all, you're a kid, you have no privacy as far as I'm concerned." He shook his head quickly, "we can talk about this later - I have something more pertinent to ask you?"

Peter winced. "Yeah?" his voice slightly hesitant.

"Well, you were there at 12 at night. And you were usually there for an hour... so I was just wondering..." Tony faltered off, hoping Peter's genius brain would be able to fill in the rest.

"... what were you wondering?" Peter asked, oblivious as ever. Tony's face reddened, and he began gesticulating with his hands and opening and closing his mouth rapidly. Peter stared at him for a moment before throwing his hands in the air, "Oh c'mon just spit it out!"

"SEX!" Tony screeched, causing Peter to blanche. "ARE YOU HAVING THE SEX?"

Peter paused, before covering his blushing face with his hands. "OH, GOD. Really? Is that what you're asking me?" he said, peeking through his fingers.

Tony shook his head, "I just want to know that you're ... being safe" he trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

Peter looked as if he'd want nothing more than to die. "Just kill me. Please."

"Pete, it's nothing to be ashamed about," Tony began, before he was cut off by Peter's high pitched yelp.

"I am NOT having the Sex talk with Tony Stark. And what makes you think I need the talk anyway?" Peter replied quickly, attempting to salvage the last of both his dignity and sanity.

"You play with Lego, kid. Forgive me, but I thought I'd check in with you just in case," Tony deadpanned.

Peter paused. He knew that he wasnt going over there to have sex with his girlfriend, but the thought of scaring the shit out of Tony was just too good to pass up. Peter dropped his hands. "Just because I play with Lego on occasion, doesn't mean I don't understand how sex works. Lego is just fitting pieces together at the end of the day. And with the level fo hand dexterity it takes to put finer sets together, I'd say it's kind of helpful in this area."

This time, it was Tony's turn to go pale. "Oh okay, but, uh, you're being, uh, safe, right?" he stammered. This is not what he expected to come from this conversation.

Peter nodded, "Oh yeah. I'm not stupid." He decided to dig into his old knowledge from sex ed, "and don't worry, I know not to mix the lube with the latex and to suit up whether I'm with a girl or a guy."

Tony closed his eyes, praying to whatever god existed that this was all a cosmic joke. He opened an eye, staring at Peter, who looked back at him with a smile. _Kid's gotta be fucking with me,_ he thought. Ok, two can play that game. He relaxed, and said: "Good, good. I knew you'd know the basics, what with your proclivity for science. But you better be breaking out the dental dams. And make sure you have a safe word. And consent! Consent is ongoing, you can say no at any time, as can your partner. Or partners."

Peter eyed the man carefully, "Mmmhmm, safe words. Got it."

"And always engage in an open and honest dialogue about what your interests are. People have weird kinks, like choking and dressing up as animals," Tony added, seeing if he could push the kid. He reached for his coke and took a long drink.

Peter rolled his eyes. "Choking isn't that kinky, Mr. Stark," he began, causing Tony to choke. Peter noticed this and gently thumped Tony on the back, as he continued. "Plus, being a furry isn't that weird. I mean, aren't Iron Man and Spider-Man essentially fursonas?"

Tony looked like he was in the midst of an existential crisis. Peter stopped, and decided it was time to pull the plug. "Don't worry about it, Tony. I'm just messing with you," Peter said, causing Tony to whack him on the head. "Lemme explain! It's - that's - not what MJ and I are doing. I just ... I like to check in on her. She's been having a tough time since she found out about the whole Spider-Man thing. She keeps getting these nightmares that I'm going to bleed to death in an ally or something and die, and I like to pop in on her so she knows I'm okay. I don't want her losing sleep because she's worrying about me," Peter admitted. "So sometimes, I stay with her until she's fallen asleep."

Tony nodded, letting out an internal sigh of relief. "Thank god. I'm to young to be a grandpa," he muttered, placing a hand on his heart.

"The wrinkles on your face prove otherwise," Peter replied, dodging the cushion Tony threw at him.

"I'll have you know that I looked young and wrinkle-free before I started watching you do your death-defying stunts," Tony retorted.

Peter quickly grabbed his phone, "that reminds me - did I show you this video of me doing a backflip off of the Empire State building yet?"

Tony groaned.


	13. Peter Meets the Avengers: Part I

**I got a request for the Avengers meeting Peter. And I think I delivered. But ... it's going to be a three parter.**

 **So this chapter is just Peter meeting Thor and Bruce (and Loki, Valkyrie and the rest of the Asgardians). The next chapter will be Peter meeting the Rogues, and the third and final chapter will be him meeting everyone else (Scott, Hope, T'Challa, Carol, the Guardians, etc).**

 **I'm pretty much rewriting how Infinity War should have began. Basically this is what I like to call "Fuck canon, I do what I like"**

 **So... enjoy. It's a long chapter.**

* * *

 _"If the multiverse was real, is there a multiverse where I was a spider bitten by a man? Man-Spider?"_ Peter thought. _"Sounds like a question only Mr. Stark could answer."_ He was reaching for his phone when a hard nudge to his ribs made him jump. "Yes Sir?" He replied, looking straight into the eyes of his AP Calc teacher.

"Ah, glad you've rejoined us Mr. Parker," he began, "what is Rolle's theorem?"

Peter sighed, "if f is continuous on [a,b] and differentiable on (a, b) and if f(a) = f(b), then there is at least one number c on (a, b) such that f(c) = 0."

His professor nodded once, before continuing on.

"Dude! Are you trying to get caught?" Ned hissed from beside him. "One more incident like that and boom - you're in detention listening to Captain America talk about 'y'know what you did was wrong.'"

"I know, 'I gotta make things right'" Peter muttered absent-mindedly. Something about watching a current war-hero turned war criminal/fugitive lecture you on being a good person really pissed Peter off. It's like when someone tells you to do something you were gonna do anyways - you don't wanna do it afterwards. He turned to stare at the clock on his watch/hidden web shooter. The second hand just passed the 12 mark, and Peter watched the short hand move to the three, the bell ringing in sync. He threw his books into his bag, and quickly made for the doors of the school. It was a Friday and as the following week was spring break, Peter got to spend the next few days with Tony at the compound - May was going to take a trip with her friends out to Atlantic City. He made a beeline for the first empty alleyway he could find. He quickly changed into the red and blue spandex suit, before webbing up his backpack and pulling it on. While it seemed silly, he didn't need people identifying him from his backpack.

Karen's voice filled his ears as he pulled on the mask and began to climb the side of the building. "Hello, Peter. How are you today?"

"I'm good Karen. Can you plot a course to the Tower?" Peter asked. He knew Happy was doing some security training (an unfortunate result of two employees accidentally forgetting to wear their credentials), so it was up to him to make his way to the Tower, where he'd hitch a ride to the Compound with Tony. Karen plotted a map and notified Peter of any small crimes taking place along his route. He stopped two muggings and an armed robbery in the short 25 minute swing. As he approached the Tower, his phone began to ring, and Tony's face popped up on the HUD. "Incoming call from Tony Stark," Karen said.

"Connect, and let FRI know we're incoming in 2 minutes," Peter huffed as he made his way down the street to the tower.

'Hey kid," said Tony. "How was school?"

"Good, good. Aced a Spanish test and got the go-ahead for my miniature arc-reactor project for the science fair," Peter said quickly. "I'm just heading in now," he added.

Tony nodded, "I can see you. Aim for the kitchen window." Tony shook his head. If someone had told him five years ago he'd be telling a spider-mutant teenager to throw himself through the kitchen window of Stark Tower, he'd have asked what they were smoking.

"Got it, incoming in 30 seconds. What's the plan today?" Peter asked.

"Not much, just working on the newly improved nanite armour, and maybe a couple of tweaks to the Audi" Tony said. "Oh and you need to test out the new Starkphone."

"So . . . we're Season 2 Dunder Mifflin levels of busy," Peter supplied.

"Exactly kid," Tony replied, walking over to the window and watching the red and blue blur move quickly down the road. "Did you let-" Tony began, before Peter interrupted.

"Yep, May knows I'm staying at yours," Peter chirped happily.

A moment later, the window slid down and Peter flew in, landing in a crouch in the middle of the kitchen. He quickly tugged the mask off, and caught the bottle of water Tony tossed him with a quick "thanks" before gulping down half of it.

Tony grabbed his keys and nodded to Peter, "go take a quick shower and grab whatever you need. We leave in 15 minutes." Peter gave Tony a mock salute with a firm "Sir, Yes Sir" before marching to his room. Tony rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone, flicking through a couple documents and emails about the Accords. The flip phone Steve had given him felt heavy in his pocket as he read through the information.

* * *

Peter tossed his bags into the trunk of the Audi, before sitting in the passengers seat. He'd been banned from driving after the "Incident" as Tony and Happy referred to it. The dent on the driver's side door had long been hammered out, but Tony wasn't quite as eager to get Peter behind the wheel unless they were in the empty compound parking lot.

Peter had his Starkpad on his lap, as he began to work through his Calc homework. The pair's shared playlist was on a low volume, seeping out of the speakers as they pulled out of the Tower's underground parking lot and onto the main streets.

"So, how are things going with the wedding?" Peter asked. Both he and Tony knew he didn't need to focus when studying, especially when it came to the Sciences. Tony let out a sigh in response, and Peter groaned, "that bad?" he asked.

"Apparently its kind of hard to get a venue when everyone thinks its going to get overrun by aliens or something," Tony replied. Peter let out an audible "what?' and Tony continued. "Pep and I reached out to that hotel you recommended and they wanted to double the deposit as well as make sure we're on the hook for any property damage when the wedding happens."

"Do they think you can't pay? 'Cause they might be right" Peter said. He'd moved past the initial awkwardness of being mentored by a man who was a "Billionaire with a B," and was finally comfortable clowning Tony about his finances.

Tony swatted him around the head, "Kid I could buy their little hotel and not make a dent."

Peter rolled his eyes, "That may be the case, but you were quite frugal when we went to McDonald's that day. What kind of gentleman doesn't get dessert for their date?"

"Hey, hey, hey. I'm an absolute gentleman. Just ask Pepper," Tony replied as they exited downtown Manhattan.

"Didn't you buy her a giant stuffed animal?" Peter asked.

Tony sighed, "I should have never told you that story."

"Speaking of which, I need your advice on a gift for MJ," Peter began, and Tony nodded, letting the kid regale him with the woes of teenage relationships.

* * *

The pair pulled into the Compound, watching as some of the workers began to head home for the day. Peter grabbed the large, metal suitcase Tony had used when first gifting the suit to him. Tony, who'd been reaching for the kid's backpack, watched with mild awe as the kid shouldered the trunk before grabbing three more bags. "I got it!" Peter said, hooking the backpack onto his pinky finger, and marching towards the doors.

"Sometimes I forget you have super spider powers," Tony said as he quickened his pace to match Peter's slightly longer strides.

Peter shot him a surprised look, "really?" he asked, eyebrows raised.

Tony nodded. "After all the dumb stuff I've seen you do, it just doesn't connect anymore," he replied.

Peter considered this. "Yeah, that's pretty much why the hero worship faded too," he said, grinning.

Tony swatted him around the head as they stepped off the elevator. "Has it? Last I checked you were still following me around like a lost puppy." He led Peter to his room, where the kid dropped off some of his bags, still holding on to the metal case.

"'If I haven't passed you yet, watch me catch up now," Peter replied matter-of-factly.

"That's a music reference, isn't it?" Tony asked.

Peter nodded, "Wade's been forcing me to listen to a LOT of Canadian artists."

Tony shook his head, "Deadpool. You really had to become friends with the LEAST polite Canadian ever? Now I know why you need to keep following me around, lest you lose your way." Peter stuck out his tongue at the man, as they headed to the labs to work on his suit. They worked in a hallowed silence for a few minutes, as Peter rummaged around some old equipment in the corner of the room. Despite having moved to the new Compound several months back, Tony had yet to fully unpack a vast majority of his supplies. As Peter fumbled around for a spare housing unit, a loud beeping noise emitted from deep within the pile of old tech. He rummaged around for a moment before unearthing what looked to be a small device - a pager. But it wasn't any old pager. Rather, it was tricked out - and a pixellated hammer and green fist began to flash on the screen. "Uh, Mr. Stark? Your being paged," he said, holding the device up.

Tony, who was currently in the middle of updating some new code for his nanite suit, did a double take before sprinting over to where Peter stood, pager on his outstretched hand. Tony grabbed it, putting his glasses on and staring at it in mild horror and excitement. He quickly ran over to the nearest computer and began to bark orders at FRIDAY, while connecting the pager to the computer. He stared at the symbols for a moment, as the lights above the small screen flashed. He pressed a few buttons on the computer and suddenly the beeping stopped, and all the pager's lights turned on. The speakers of the room were quickly filled with crackling audio.

Peter looked over Tony's shoulder curiously. "What is this?" he said, reaching for the pager.

Tony slapped his hand away, "It's was a pager. But Bruce and I tricked it out so it can receive inter-galactic messages. We gave Thor a very simple code, so he could connect with us from wherever he is, if he needed us. Or if we needed him."

Peter nodded, "but you didn't account for wavelength flux based on the movement of particles depending on the area of space he's in. We need to tune it from our end so we can be operating on the same level." He picked up the device and toggled around with some of the wires, and slowly began inching Tony out of the way of the screen, typing in some commands and altering the numbers appearing on the screen, while giving FRIDAY commands. The audio fell silent and Tony quickly turned to Peter, "what did you do? We lost 'em!"

Peter rolled his eyes, and quickly opened the back of the pager and disconnected two wires, before biting off the ends of them and tying them together. Suddenly, the audio returned, without the crackling and several voices could be heard.

"- trying to get it to connect," a booming voice said.

"STOP BREATHING ON ME," someone complained.

"stop arguing. Men, honestly," a female voice ordered.

"Oh, and I suppose you're much better," a cool voice replied.

"I know I am" the female voice retorted.

"I think I got it," one of the voices said. "Hello? Can - can anyone hear me?"

Tony quickly tapped a couple keys. "This is Anthony Edward Stark!" he screeched. Peter took a step back and shot Tony a reproachful look, shaking his head.

"Tony!" One voice sighed in relief, while the booming one yelled "MAN OF IRON!"

"Thor? Bruce? That you? What's going on?" Tony yelled. "How the hell are you two together in space?"

"It's hard to explain, can you see us?" Bruce's voice asked. "I've tried to send the ship coordinates through to the pager."

"Not yet!" Tony shouted back.

Peter nudged Tony out of the way and tinkered with the pager for a moment more, attaching more wires and hooking it up to the computer. He typed in a couple more lines of code, and suddenly an image appeared on the screen with a red dot blinking, coordinates written next to it changing rapidly every second. Tony nodded to him in thanks as Peter backed away slightly.

"Got it! I see you! What the hell happened Bruce? Why're you in space?" he asked, peering a the coordinates. Apparently, they were some several light years away.

"Well, it's quite a thrilling tale actually," the cool voice responded.

"Loki, shut up" Thor warned, before continuing. "It's a long story, Stark. One best told in person."

"Tony - we need help. We've got around 1,000 Asgardians here with no home," Bruce responded quickly. "And we're heading to Earth now!"

Tony muttered something under his breath about paying his lawyers overtime, before speaking. "Okay, okay. I got it. We can find places for them. I'll give you the coordinates for where to land." He began rattling off numbers and Peter quickly realized Tony was telling them to land at the compound. "When will you be incoming?"

"Three days," Bruce replied quickly.

"Three days, got it," Tony confirmed. "I'll see what I can do," he said, nodding to Peter who moved away to a different computer to get some of Tony's lawyers on the line, as well as confirm with FRIDAY what rooms were available in the compound and whether they could repurpose old buildings to makeshift homes. "Bruce, Thor. Make sure you and everyone else get here safely."

"We will Tony," Bruce said, clearly glad to have reached the man.

"Thank you Stark. My people and I are forever indebted to you," Thor added.

"It's good to hear from you," Tony added. "I'll keep the pager's connection on, just in case you need an assist."

"See you soon!" Bruce said, and with that the connection from the ship dropped. However, Tony was still able to see the red dot marking his friends imminent arrival.

He turned to Peter, "what are we looking at for the room situation?"

Peter moved the screen so Tony could see it as well. "We've got enough space to house easily 250-300 people, and if we're quick we can repurpose the warehouse on the east side to fit another 700-750. Say the word and FRIDAY is on it."

"FRIDAY, go" Tony said, before looking back at the screen. "what's all this stuff?" he asked, pointing to an assortment of open tabs.

"Well, Dr. Banner said you have 1,000 Asgardians without a home. They may not be from Earth, but it sounds like they're intergalactic refugees. I was trying to find out how we can get them asylum, and what countries are capable of doing so. It's a lot of people and I'm assuming they'd want to stay together," Peter responded. "Looks like Wakanada is starting their new outreach program soon," he added, pointing to one of the tabs.

Tony nodded, "I'll give the King a call."

"King T'Challa? As in the Black Panther?" Peter asked, excitement bordering his tone. "Holy shit!"

"Kid, you've met him? Why are you so excited?" Tony responded, as he tapped away on his computer quickly.

Peter rolled his eyes, "He's a King, Mr. Stark. A King. Who also moonlights as a superhero. He's the closest thing to a real-life Batman."

Tony cleared his throat. "If anyone is Batman in this scenario it's me. Rich guy, owns a company, fights crime" he added, ticking one off of each finger.

"Yeah, but you're shit at martial arts. Plus, Batman is ripped," Peter responded. "Sorry, Mr. Stark. You've been demoted to Robin."

"That doesn't even make any sense!" Tony cried, as the doors to the lab slid open.

"Rhodey, Pepper, Happy. Please tell Mr. Stark that he is not Batman," Peter said, not turning around from where he and Tony were staring each other down.

"He's not," Happy replied.

"Yeah, he's a Robin," both Rhodey and Pepper replied.

"Thank you!" Peter cried, turning back to the computer.

"I hate all of you," Tony muttered under his breath, as he turned to the others, gripping the workbench in front of him. "You're not going to believe who just called."

"Who?" Rhodey asked.

"Thor. And somehow Bruce is with him. In space" Tony said shortly, watching the trio's face morph into one's of worry and concern.

"Are they okay?' Pepper asked, rushing over to rest a hand on Tony's shoulder, quickly easing the tension in his body.

"Yeah, I think so. But they're bringing 1,000 Asgardians and we need somewhere to house them. We also need to get them refugee status."

"What?" Rhodey said, as Happy asked "Tony what the hell happened?"

"Beats me," he replied, "But Bruce and Thor sound quite shaken up."

Peter quickly piped up, startling Tony who had forgotten momentarily that the kid was there. "Dr Banner said that they have no home, so obviously something's happened to Asgard. Why else would Thor be bringing a thousand or so of his people to Earth."

The trio nodded in response, before Tony's head snapped up. "Oh, and he's bringing Loki with him."

"I thought Loki was dead?" Pepper said.

"Well, I guess he pulled a miracle of Jesus Christ proportions and came back," Tony replied. "Either way, we have about three days to get this prepared for their arrival. Until then, no one touches this pager. It's our only connection to them right now." They all nodded before Tony began outlining his plan to contact T'Challa about getting refugee status for the Asgardians.

* * *

It took quite the effort, and a lot of calls with T'Challa, but they were able to get the Asgardians refugee status in the country of Wakanda. However, they were going to spend a few days at the Compound, and T'Challa would arrive with his own transportation to take them back to Wakanda.

On Sunday afternoon, Tony, Pepper, Rhodey, Peter and Happy all stood outside the Compound on the lawn, waiting for the ship to arrive. Peter had worked tirelessly to ensure they had constant communication with the ship - he had managed to rewire and integrate the pager into a Starkpad so they weren't restricted to the lab, while Rhodey ensured the airspace below and above the ship's entry zone was clear of all aircraft.

It was quiet for several minutes, while they crowded around Tony, who was watching the red dot move closer to the Earth on his Starkpad. "Says they should be here in under three minutes," he turned to Peter, "so that gives us three minutes for you to freak out but also for us to get our story straight."

"Our story?" Peter asked, confused.

"Kid, they're probably not going to know who Spider-Man is. They also don't know who you are. So it's up to you if you want to tell them the true nature of your Internship," Tony explained. He had bounced back and forth with the idea of letting Thor and Bruce meet Peter, but at the end of the day, the kid was responsible for making his own choices, so Tony left it to him. It was hard though, he didn't quite like the idea of Peter meeting Loki, but he also couldn't send the kid back home - even if Peter had offered to leave several times prior to today.

Peter nodded, "I think I'll just tell 'em. I mean, it's Thor and Dr Banner. They seem like a pretty trustworthy pair."

"Fine by me," Tony said. "You're gonna love 'em kid. Bruce and I founded the Science Bros," he said fondly.

"Is it just me or does the Science Bros sound like more fun than the Avengers?" Peter asked. Rhodey tried to stifle a snort while Happy squinted at the kid in confusion. _Really, science?_

Just then there was a beep on the Starkpad, and they all watched as the dot sped up, through the atmosphere, and began to descend. "Guys, do you hear that?' Peter said, looking up at the sky.

"I don't hear anything," Rhodey said, as Pepper shook her head no.

"You can see it, up in the distance," Peter murmured, raising a finger slightly and tracing it along the sky. The adults followed the kids finger, and their eyes widened. A very thin line could be made out, slowly growing larger with each passing second.

"Jesus, how big is that ship?" Pepper cried, as it grew closer. "It looks like a planet."

They watched as the ship grew larger and larger, and the waves of sound began to grow louder. Peter whipped out his earphones and jammed them in, dulling the sound immediately. As the ship grew closer, they were blasted back by its repulsors. Peter and Tony began to point randomly at the ship, identifying areas of damage, and some of it's intergalactic features.

"Holy shit," Peter muttered, as it finally landed on the ground in front of them. There was a pregnant pause, before a loud clang emitted from the ship, and a large belt slid forward as the doors opened. They waited a moment, before seeing the first sign of movement. Peter tugged on Tony's arm, "Is that... Thor?" he asked, the steps growing louder.

Suddenly, from within the depths of the ship, a tall man wearing an eyepatch with short blonde hair and a beard appeared. He threw his arms out wide and cried, "STARK!'

"Well, if it isn't our favourite God of Thunder," Tony replied, grinning as he stepped forward, quickly engulfed in a hug from Thor.

"I can truly say I am glad to see you, Man of Iron," Thor boomed, tightening his hold on Tony.

"Mhhmm," Tony grunted, "Might wanna ease up there, Point Break. I'm not actually made of Iron," Tony managed to say, before quickly being let go. Thor grasped the man's forearms - a greeting he usually reserved for members of the team. Tony looked up at the man who, despite smiling from ear to ear, looked incredibly weary. "What happened to your eye?"

Thor's smiled wavered for a moment, a crease appearing in his brow. "Yes, well. It is quite a tale. I shall tell you once were are properly settled in."

Tony nodded, and looked behind the man. Coming down the ship's plank were three people; he recognized Loki, who immediately looked down. Next to him was a woman, dressed in armor with a sword strapped to her side. On the far right looking incredibly haggard, was Bruce, wearing what Tony could only assume to be his clothing, and a worrisome expression. "Bruce?" he said.

"Tony," the man sighed, the worry dissipating as he smiled. He quickly swept Tony up into a hug, much to the surprise of Peter and the others. Tony was used to hugs from Pepper, and the occasional nudge and so on from Happy, Rhodey and Peter, but they had never seen the man be hugged so many times (yes, two is a lot) and not seem fed up.

"Bruce," Tony said, "You alright there?"

"God Tony, it's a nightmare," the man sighed. Tony patted his back in what he could only hope was a comforting manner. Bruce quickly let go of him and nodded, "thank god you got our message."

Tony nodded, looking at the man with concern. He hadn't seen Bruce in years, and the seriousness of the whole situation truly began to dawn on him. "Don't worry - we're gonna fix this."

Bruce stepped back and nodded in thanks before moving on to greet Pepper, Rhodey and Happy as Thor had done. Tony looked over to see Loki and the woman standing off to the side, where they had just been speaking with what looked like a giant made of rocks and a large purple insect holding several knives. He and Loki caught one another's eyes for a moment, and the man began to make his way towards Tony, the woman following beside him. "I'm sure you remember Loki," Thor said nodding to his brother.

"Anthony Stark," Loki smirked. "How long it's been. I see time has been kind to you."

Tony had to use every ounce of self-restraint not to roll his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, nice to see you too, Reindeer Games."

Loki grimaced, and Thor quickly stepped in. "I assure you Stark, Loki means no harm. He's learned the error of his ways." Thor turned to look at his brother as if to say _go along with this or I'll kill you with my bare hands._

"Yes, yes. I have paid the price for my crimes against midgardians. I harbour no ill will," he said before adding under his breath, "yet."

Thor chose to ignore him and nodded to the woman, "and this is Valkyrie."

"Like army of elite female warriors? _That_ Valkyrie?" Peter asked, sounding out of breath from the excitement. All of the adults turned to look at him, with Bruce, Thor and Loki looking quite confused, while the corners of Valkyrie's mouth turned up. Tony hadn't noticed the kid move to the back during the greetings. Peter began to blush from the attention, "Sorry, I -"

"Midgardians know of the Valkyrie?" Loki asked, sounding quite shocked. Peter merely nodded in response, staring at the man with great interest. Loki, on meeting the child's gaze, furrowed his brown with interest.

"And you are..." Bruce asked, looking at the boy with a mixture of surprise and interest.

"Oh, sorry, forgot to introduce you there, kid" Tony muttered. He pulled Peter to his side, resting an arm around the kid's shoulders.

"I'm Peter," Peter said, shaking Bruce's hand. "I gotta say Dr. Banner, it's an honour to meet you. You the best scientist of our generation! My best friend Ned and I have done so many projects on you and your work. I have so many questions for you about your research. Your papers on gamma radiation and nuclear physics are literally the reason I exist. Uh- you're also an amazing superhero. One of my favourites."

Bruce stared at the kid in shock, "uh... thanks?" he stammered, looking to Tony for help.

Tony nodded, and turned to Peter. "Bruce'll be here for a while, kid. I'm sure he'd love to answer all of your questions," he said, ignoring Bruce's wide eyes. "And this is Thor, as I'm sure you know."

Thor grinned down at Peter, "Hello there, young Starkson," he said, extending a hand, which Peter grasped firmly. "I don't believe we've had the pleasure of meeting."

"No, no" Peter said, grinning madly, "I would have definitely remembered meeting my favourite Avenger." Pepper tried to hide her laugh, but was unsuccessful, earning herself a withering look from Tony.

"Thanks kid," Tony replied as Rhodey added, "you're gonna break your old man's heart."

Thor's smile widened, and his eyes lit up. "I think we will get along just fine," he replied, patting the kid on the shoulder.

They milled around outside for a few more moments, before Tony and Thor began discussing the logistics of everyone's stay. Soon, the Asgardian peoples had all made their way into their respective rooms, helmed by Valkyrie, while Thor, Bruce and Loki were led to the Avengers residence of the compound. Thor headed to his room, while the other two were told to take whichever rooms were available to freshen up. In the meantime Tony, with the help of the others, began to prepare a feast worthy of their royal friend. It took Peter a moment to contain his excitement at having shaken the hand of his favourite Avenger.

"I'm still kinda hurt by the fact that I'm not your favourite Avenger," Tony said, feigning distress as he cut up some salad. "I don't know how I'm going to recover from this betrayal."

Peter rolled his eyes as he set the table with Pepper. "Cmon. It's not fair for me to say you're my favourite Avenger. You're family. It's gonna seam biased if I do! And besides, you're my seventh favourite person, so ..." the kid trailed off.

 _Tony's this kid's family?_ Bruce thought, as he walked down the corridor that led into the common area. _Interesting._

Tony smiled, "Okay. I'll take it." He continued to cut up the food, before whipping his head up, "Wait! _Seventh_?"

Pepper groaned, as she turned to Peter, "always, and I mean ALWAYS, lie to him. You know how fragile he can be." Peter nodded as if to agree, forcing Tony to roll his eyes at the pair.

Just then, Bruce made his way into the room, attempting to look clueless about the previous conversation. Tony's head quickly whipped around, and he smiled at him. "Brucie-bear, come, have a seat at the table. We've got a lot to catch up on."

Bruce grinned, Tony's upbeat and positive attitude quickly rubbed off on him. He moved over to the table, and was surprised when Peter pulled his chair back for him. He nodded to the kid, before asking. "So, Peter ... how old are you?"

"I'm 15, almost 16" Peter replied, as he and Tony began bringing the dishes to the table. Bruce merely 'hmmed' in response as he began doing the mental mathematics in his head. Peter would have been born in the early 2000s, so smack dab in the middle of Tony's wilder days. Thor and Loki appeared a few moments later, taking their seats next to Bruce. It was quiet for a few moments, as they all passed around the various dishes Tony'd prepared, and began to fill their plates.

"So," Tony began, "what happened to your eye? and your hair?" he asked.

"and the hammer, Mr. Thor?" Peter added, earning a point from Rhodey.

"And why the hell was Brucie in space?" Tony added.

Thor nodded, taking a long drink before beginning his tale. "It all began a few years after Ultron. I had gone scouring the universe for Infinity Stones, and during this hunt I came face to face with Ragnarok, who had captured me in a cage. Now, I know what you're thinking: 'Oh no, Thor's in a cage, how did this happen?'"

* * *

"and so, with the destruction of Asgard, I decided to seek refuge for my people here, on Midgard. So I charted a course to Earth," Thor concluded.

Everyone was quiet for a moment, before Tony spoke. "So, you lost your father, your secret sibling came back, broke your hammer, she took over Asgard while you and your brother were relegated to Sakaar, where Bruce was a champion... and then you all went back to fight her, and she cut out your eye. And to prevent her from becoming all-powerful, you caused a cataclysmic event which resulted in the destruction of your homeland?" Tony asked.

Thor nodded, grinning madly, "exactly."

Peter stared at Thor for a moment, "Mr. Thor -"

"Just Thor will do, Starkson" Thor interjected.

"Uh, ok . . . are you alright?" he asked. "I mean, that's a lot for one person to go through. Did you manage to sort through all that in the journey here?"

Thor's smiled lessened slightly, as he spoke. "No . . . in fact, we were confronted with several other problems during the journey here." He cleared his throat, "The Mad Titan Thanos is seeking the Infinity Stones, and we have reason to believe he has acquired one."

"The Infinity Stones?" Pepper asked, "what are those?"

Thor nodded to Loki who, until this point, had remained relatively silent. "The Infinity Stones are the most powerful entities in the universe. These six singularities existed before the creation of the universe. Six of these singularities exist, each controlling an essential aspect of existence. There is the Space Stone, which allows the user instant access to any part of the universe, and the ability to control space itself. Then there is the Mind Stone, which grants the user powerful mental abilities, including increased intelligence. The Reality Stone provides the user the ability to warp reality at will, granting the individual immense strength, durability, powers, and subjective influence over the universe. The Time Stone allows the user to control the flow of time. The fifth is the Soul Stone which, when used in conjunction with all the other stones, allows the user complete control over all life in the universe. It is, perhaps, the most dangerous of all the Infinity Stones, but also remains lost to all. No one I know of has ever been able to locate it. Finally, there is the Power Stone, which increases the user's physical abilities and allows them to manipulate energy." Loki paused, giving everyone a moment to catch up. "Until quite recently, it was housed on Xandar, by the Nova Corp. That is until the Mad Titian waged war against Xandar for the stone. He succeeded," Loki concluded sounding quite grim.

"What do you mean by succeeded?" Rhodey asked, looking concerned.

Bruce sighed, looking more haggard than ever. "We got a distress signal from Xandar when we were heading back, but by the time we got there ... there was nothing left. Thanos got the stone and obliterated the entire planet."

Tony tightened his hand around his glass, unable to meet Bruce's eye. "This is it," Tony murmured. "This is what I was worried about," he whispered, looking at Pepper, who quickly placed a hand on Tony's shoulder.

Loki turned to the man, eyebrows creased. "You knew this would happen?"

Tony shook his head, rubbing his face with his hands, before speaking. "When I went into the wormhole to get rid of the nuke, I saw this _massive_ ship. It got blown up by the nuke, but the sheer number of Chitauri and Leviathans," Tony shivered for a moment, before looking up at Loki. "That's who you were working for. That's why you knew about his plan."

Loki looked solemn. "Yes. Thanos sent me here to collect the Space and Time stones. But i did not do so of my own will."

"You were mind controlled," Bruce murmured, remembering how Clint had been turned.

"Yes," Loki whispered. "But that does not absolve me of those wrongs."

"It wasn't your fault, Mr. Loki," Peter said, looking at the man with pure sympathy. "You didn't know what you were doing." He paused for a moment while the adults stared at him in shock.

"I don't think you understand," Loki said, staring at Peter. "I knew what I was doing, partly. I knew, but I continued anyways, and your people paid the price."

"Even so, but it seems like you've changed. Grown." Peter said, staring back at the man. "You want to make it completely right?" Loki felt himself nodding, "then you're going to help us beat Thanos."

Tony whipped his head around, "Uh, Pete?" Peter turned to face Tony. "Yeah, you're **not** going to be fighting this Thanos guy. Absolutely not. Under no circumstances are you going to outer space to pick a fight with an alien who has unlimited power."

Rhodey, Pepper and Bruce nodded in agreement, while Thor snorted. "I approve of him," he said, nodding to Peter. "You will make a worthy ally during the battle against the Mad Titan," he grinned.

"Thanks!" Peter said, smiling back.

"No, no no. Don't encourage this," Tony said, whipping around to look at Thor. "I will not have him fighting an intergalactic psychopath. Especially not on a school night." Rhodey and Pepper tried to hide their smiles, while Bruce tried to connect the dots between Tony and Peter.

Peter rolled his eyes, "I'll be fine," he said, wiggling his fingers.

"Kid, I don't care what you can stick to. You're not going! End of discussion. Or I'll tell May. Capiche?" Tony replied, pointing a Peter, who pouted slightly.

"This reminds me of when we wanted to go to Midgard the first time," Thor lamented as Loki grinned, adding "and Odin kept telling us we couldn't go." Thor turned to Peter, "It's alright, fathers can be like this."

Peter and Tony were too invested in their own argument to pay attention to everything else. That was until Bruce asked the dreaded question; "where are the others?"

Immediately tension filled the air, and everyone turned to face Bruce slowly, as though he had just suggested 1 plus 1 equaled 3. Peter looked at Tony from the corner of his eye, noticing the man's hands balling themselves into fists on his thigh and his heart rate speeding up. Pepper squeezed Tony's arm gently, while Rhodey looked down at his legs. Bruce and Thor stared at Tony and Rhodey for a moment, unsure of what to do. "Uh, Tony?" Bruce said softly, "are ... are you okay? What happened?"

Tony sighed once more, shaking slightly, before staring at Bruce for a moment. "God, we haven't caught up in a spell," he said bitterly. "The Avengers broke up. We're toast."

"Broke up?" Bruce repeated slowly. "Like - like a band? Like the Beatles?"

"Cap and I fell out - hard. We're not on speaking terms" Tony explained. "Hell, I don't know where any of them are."

"What do you mean you 'fell out'?" Thor asked, looking at Tony with curiosity. "I don't understand."

"It's a long story Bruce, Thor," Tony said, looking at the pair with weary eyes. "I'm sorry but I just don't have the energy to go through it all over again." Tony stood up, still shaking slightly, as Pepper stood with him, leading him away from the table and to their room. "I'll see you guys in the morning - get some rest," he yelled over his shoulder.

As soon as the door closed, Rhodey turned to the three men sitting at the table. "Look - when what happened happened, Tony kind of never got over it. So, bringing up the Avengers, Natasha (here Bruce looked sad) and Cap isn't really something we do here." Rhodey ran his hands along the side of his thigh, where the braces poked out slightly

"Rhodey, what the hell happened? You gotta tell us," Bruce implored, looking at the man and then at Peter. "C'mon, please?" he begged.

Rhodey sighed, before standing up nodding to the others to follow him. They went down the hallway and into one of the large meeting rooms on the other side of the residential floor, as far away as they could be from Tony and Pepper's room. "FRI, lock the door, and don't let Tony know what we're doing unless he asks. Override: HoneyBear." Peter merely smirked, earning a nudge from Rhodey as he nodded to the screens, bringing up news reels and archival footage as he spoke.

"Well, it was post-Sokovia and Tony and Barton had decided to retire, but for Tony it didn't really stick. He went through a rough patch with Pepper, too. On top of that, there was a public incident in Lagos, with casualties. The UN decided that - with SHEILD having collapsed - the Avengers needed someone to oversee them. So, they wanted us all to sign the Sokovia Accords, basically to make sure we'd be held accountable, that we were subject to rules. The biggest rule was when we were needed somewhere, we had to be called. If we weren't, then we couldn't go." Rhodey paused, letting the information sink in. "Naturally, Cap didn't take too well to that. But Tony agreed that we needed to be held accountable for things. So, everyone began to pick sides. Nat went to Geneva to represent the Avengers, but the meeting got bombed." He swiped his hands again, and the news footage of the bombing played out. Bruce's hands shot to his mouth, while Loki and Thor looked concerned. "King T'Chaka of Wakanda was killed in the bombing. The news footage revealed that the bombing was caused by one James Buchanan Barnes," he pressed another key, and some old photos and videos of Steve and Bucky appeared. "Barnes was Cap's best friend when he fought in the war. Cap - along with the rest of us - thought he died during one of the missions. But he didn't. He was saved by Hydra, who wiped his memory. They turned him into the Winter Soldier." He brought up another image of Bucky, with a steel arm, fighting Steve in Washington a few years back. "Now, Barnes didn't actually cause the bombing, but no one knew this at the time, including Tony and myself. So when the police were called to bring Barnes in, Cap went after him himself, and tried to protect him. King T'Chaka's son T'Challa wanted revenge against Barnes for killing his father. He - like us - thought Barnes was responsible for the bombing. It all came to a head when we fought in Leipzig. Tony, myself, Peter, Vision, T'Challa on one side and Cap, Barnes, Clint, Wanda, Sam and Scott on the other." He tapped the computer some more, pulling up photos of everyone involved in the fight.

"Wait you're -" Bruce said, pointing to Peter and then back to the blue and red spandex-cold superhero.

"I'm Spider-Man," Peter explained, "Mr. Stark recruited me for the fight."

Bruce, Thor and Loki stared at some of the clips of the fight. "Man of Spiders," Thor said, clapping Peter's shoulder, "you are truly awesome" he marvelled, staring at a video of Peter fighting Steve.

"Uh thanks," Peter replied, trying not to melt into the ground from blushing so hard.

"During the fight, Cap and Barnes escaped to follow this man" here he tapped one of the keys, and photo of another man filled the screen. "Helmut Zemo. Apparently the bomb was set off by Zemo, who lost his family in the fight with Ultron. His goal was to tear the Avengers apart, and he succeeded. He wanted to find the rest of the super-soldiers like Barnes, and led Cap and Barnes to Siberia, where they were housed. Sam, Clint, Wanda and Scott were all taken in by Ross and transported to the Raft, a prison. Tony went there to speak with Sam, who told him that Barnes was innocent, so Tony followed them to Siberia. I would have gone with him, but during the fight in Leipzig, I was hit and got paralyzed from the waist down."

"Jesus, Rhodes," Bruce murmured, looking at the braces on the man's legs. "I'm so sorry."

Rhodey shrugged, "it is what it is. While I was in surgery, Tony went to Siberia and he found Cap and Barnes in the bunker where the supersoldiers were being held. The three of them went in as a team, to bring Zemo in. But Zemo, however, had one last trick up his sleeve." Rhodey tapped one more key, and a black and white clip appeared on the screen. Rhodey and Peter moved back, as the other three moved forward watching as a car slid down the road before slamming into a post. A man on a motorbike cycled back to the scene, before getting off, and walking towards the car. He dragged a man out of the car, bludgeoning him to death with his metal arm, before throwing him back into the car. The man then walked around to the passenger's side, wrapping his metal hand around the neck of the passenger, savagely strangling them to death. He then walked to the trunk, where he pulled out a briefcase, before walking a few steps towards the camera, raising a gun, and shooting it.

"I-I don't understand," Thor said, watching the clip carefully.

"That man, with the arm, that's Barnes, correct?" Loki asked, Rhodey who nodded slowly.

Bruce paled, turning to Peter and Rhodey. "The people in the car . . . that was Tony's parents," he whispered. Thor and Loki turned to look at Bruce, who explained. "It was a huge thing when they died. I mean, their deaths tore Tony apart. It's why he was always so . . . " Bruce gesticulated, as Rhodey continued.

"The Winter Soldier killed Tony's parents," Rhodey explained. "Apparently Cap knew, but he'd never told Tony. So, Tony tried to kill Barnes. Cap tried to protect Barnes, and the pair fought Tony. Cap managed to damage the arc reactor enough to get himself and Barnes away. A few weeks later, Clint, Sam and Wanda were broken out of the raft. They, along with Nat, Cap and Barnes, have been on fugitives ever since."

"And Mr. Stark was left to pick up the pieces," Peter whispered, looking at them. "He hasn't spoken to any of them since, but he's been trying to get the Accords struck down so they can come home. So far, it hasn't really worked."

Thor shook his head, "This is worse than I feared," he muttered, turning to Rhodey and Peter. "If this is true, then it puts us in an even worse situation than I had imagined. The Avengers are the only people who can fight Thanos. We need the whole team - we need everyone."

Rhodey shook his head, "even if we could find Cap, we can't bring him home Thor. He's a criminal. The whole world is trying to arrest him and the rest of the Avengers as well." Rhodey sighed, leaning against the large table. "It's been a long day. I think our best bet is to get some rest and regroup tomorrow," he straightened up and nodded to Peter, as he left the room.

Bruce turned to Peter, "there has to be some way to contact Steve, right?"

Peter paused, biting his lip. "There is," he said slowly, Bruce and Thor's faces lighting up as he spoke. "But - it's not something any of us can do. It's up to Mr. Stark."

Thor bent down slightly, placing a hand on Peter's shoulder. "Man of Spiders, you have to make a choice -"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Thor. But it's not my choice to make," Peter replied, eyes wide. "You - none of you - saw what Mr. Stark was like when the Avengers split up. it was bad - like bad. The only way you're going to get the team to even agree to come back, is if Tony calls them himself. Until that happens, they won't come." He paused, "which is why, we're going to have to work together to do one of two things; either we force Mr. Stark's hand, and get him to call. Or, we make them call Mr. Stark."

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Thor asked, looking between the three men.

Loki looked at Peter and grinned, "I think the child has an idea."


End file.
